What does larboard mean?
Larboard is a traditional nautical term for the left side of a ship when someone aboard is facing the bow, or forward direction. It comes from the same older maritime vocabulary that gave us “starboard,” but unlike the more familiar “port,” larboard now sounds distinctly old-fashioned and is mainly encountered in literature, historical writing, and nautical traditions. The word can be used as a noun, as in a reference to the side itself, or as an adjective describing a direction, object, or part of a vessel. Its precise opposite is “starboard,” meaning the right side. Although the modern term “port” is more common, larboard remains useful because it conveys maritime history and the specialized vocabulary of ships and navigation. It is also associated with older expressions such as “on the larboard” and can add a formal or archaic tone to writing.
The left-hand side of a ship when facing forward.
"The vessel heeled sharply to the larboard."
Chiefly literary or archaic; “port” is the usual modern term.
Situated on or relating to the left-hand side of a ship.
"The crew reported a light on the larboard bow."
Chiefly literary, historical, or archaic; often used in nautical descriptions.
The plural is uncommon because the word is now chiefly literary or archaic and is usually used in fixed nautical expressions.
"Old maps marked the harbours and larboards of the surrounding coast."
Once a standard nautical term, larboard has largely given way to the simpler word “port,” while still lending maritime writing a distinctive old-fashioned flavor.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does larboard come from?
The word entered English through Old French larboard, which was borrowed from Middle Dutch laderboord. The Dutch compound refers to a left-hand board or side, reflecting the nautical practice of describing a ship’s sides in terms of boards. The cognate starboard was inherited through a different Germanic route, while the modern shortening of “port” to the ship’s left side came to displace larboard in ordinary nautical usage.
How larboard is actually used
Chiefly literary, historical, or archaic in modern English. In everyday nautical usage, “port” is preferred; “larboard” may appear in older texts, historical accounts, and stylized maritime language.
Easily confused with larboard
Larboard means the left side of a vessel, while starboard means the right side.
Port is the modern nautical term for the left side of a ship; larboard is an older, chiefly literary equivalent.