Starboard
/ˈstɑːr.bɔːrd/noun
The right-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward.
Did you know?“Starboard” comes from Old English *steorbord*, and the opposite side became “port” because ships stopped docking on the steering side, so the old name had to survive as a navigational taboo.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*staurabordo-
“steering side of a vessel”
Old English
OE
steorbord
“the side of a ship on which it was steered”
Middle English
ME
starboard
“the steering side of a ship”
Modern English
English
starboard
“the right-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward”