The word “Starboard” has no reference to stars at all, but probably few sailors, even, know why this designates the right side of a vessel.
Its origin takes us back to the early ships of the Norse and other Teutonic people.
Though, with favoring winds, those vessels were driven by sails, they were steered, not by rudders from the rear, but by a paddle (bord, “board, paddle”) over the right side.
It was the “steering paddle, or board.”
In Old English, steorbord; whence, “starboard.”
Related Posts
-
Why is the Right Side of a Boat Called “Starboard” and the Left Side Called “Port Side”?
In the primitive days of navigation, the helmsman stood at the stern of the ship, controlling the vessel's direction by hand with a rudder. The rudder was on the right side and called…
-
What does the word “gauntlet” mean and Where does the word gauntlet come from?
During the Thirty Years' War, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, the English forces observed a form of disciplinary punishment used among their German allies. It looked highly effective, so it was not…
-
What does the word incubus (succubus) mean and Where does the word “incubus” come from?
In the Middle Ages any woman who gave birth to a witch or sorceress was supposed to have been visited, in her sleep, by a male demon or evil spirit. The name given…
-
Where does the word “Toilet” come from and What does the word Toilet mean in French?
The word "toilet" has had a rather curious development in the little more than four hundred years it has been in the language. Its origin was the French toilette, the diminutive of wile,…
-
What Does the Word Scapegoat Mean and Where Did the Word Scapegoat Come From?
A Scapegoat is a member of a group singled out for undeserved blame or negative treatment. The word "scapegoat" is a mistranslation of the word Azazel. An early Greek translation of the Old…
-
What Does the Word “Clock” Mean in French and Where Did the Word For a Large Timepiece Come From?
Like cloche in French, the word clock literally means bell. When the large mechanical clock was invented in the fourteenth century it didn't tell time with a face and hands, but rather by…
