DictionaryRoot: bord
Old English
bord
board, plank, or table
Forms
- bord
- board — The modern spelling developed with later vowel changes.
Origin
An inherited Germanic word for a flat wooden piece.
Note
A table could stand for the people meeting or eating around it.
3 / 8
verb
board
To get onto a vehicle or vessel.
Etymology
Old English bord could name a plank or a ship’s side. Going aboard meant crossing that side into the vessel, a use later extended to entering other vehicles.