Reading Bernard Cornwell's latest, I learned a little of the
etymology of "starboard" today. Among Danes and Saxons and so on,
"starboard" was the side of the ship on which the steor, or steering
paddle was worked. Fine so far,
"Board" refers to the substance of which the sides of the boat are
made. (Astute observers will note that the same substance is used
for the rest of the hull. Yet we have"larboard," but only "bottom."
No "bottomboard." )
Why "lar"? Lar, my SOED says, had earlier forms, "laddeborde,"
"latheborde, "leereborde," which may be connected to "load" or
"laden" and was thus a reference to the side on which cargo was taken.
Thoughts or insights welcome.
David Ritchie Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
