The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-05-13
ORIGIN OF PORT
AND STARBOARD
Where Recently TabOOGd Naval
Terms Game From.
LATIN AND TEUTONIG SOURCE

1t Took Centuries to Evolve Them, and /
Their Histories. Are Interesting. /
Great Britain's Navy Still Uses Them, /
and They Probably Will Not Become
Obscure and Die Out.
Before Secretary of the Navy Jose
plus Daniels love of simplicity the
time worn, time honored nautical terms
of 'starboard" and port" have fallen.
The secretary has ordered the use Of
these two terms abolished on all vessels \
of the navy department. They are not
clear enough, he says.
In these days, when things are called
by their right names, left ought to be
left and right ought TO be right on sea
rs well as land. Henceforward helms
men must accustOm themselves to hear
ing the strange order, Right your
helm" instead of the usual ''starboard"
order. When they hear left they
will assume that the man making the
order really means port"
Now that these famous old names are
banished from the navy Will they be-
come obscure and die out? 1t is hardly
probable that they will, ut least for a
long time, for, besides the thousands
of A. BIS who use no other names for
left and right, the navies Of other coun-
tries also use these terms officially
Great Britain's navy uses them, and.
| besides having an old English origin.
these words many years ago We're used
in the Latin and Teutonic tongues.
"starboard" is Older.
/ 1t took centuries of seafaring use in
different forms to make possible the
I evolution Of the word "starboard" in
its present form. Port" although
i quite an old nautical term, is not near
( ly so ancient as "starboard'-in fact
port" first came into use as a substi-
tute for 'starboard's" old partner .'lar-
board"
These two names, because of their
similar sound, We're very confusing. In
stormy weather. when the wind reared
and orders were called out, it was quite
possible TO mistake 'starboard" for
"larboard" For this reason port
was substituted for the latter.
4 The left side of ship had always
been known as the port side because
of the portfolios through which the
ships merchandise was discharged at
the ports where the ships locked In
the British navy port" was substi-
tuted FOR the older term of '1arboard''
by an admiralty order in 1914. The
United States navy did not make this
change until 1896
From Ancient Words
These terms have become part of the
language ever since the days of old
England, when vessels We're steered by
a paddle or sweeps worked from the
right side. The final part Of the term
was bord (board, which at that time
meant the side of a ship.
The first part of starboard, known in
old English as steorbord, meant
steer hence the steering side.
In the old English the left side Of q
ship was known as the baecbord. tho
blackboard or the side of the vessel t.
the back of the steersman. The Eng
fish sailors were not the only ones thai
used this term.
! The Germans knew it as backbCrt
, and the French as babord. England
itself did not keep this form in tn,
language. but changed it TO laddebord,
, or latheborde
Along about the sixteenth century tn,
word took the form of lerbord, leere
bord or larbord, probably by assimila
ton to ster, steere and STAMFORD.