Posted by Jon on January 09, 2003 at 15:14:32 from 199.128.91.76 user Jon.
In Reply to: Re: Helm's Deep Meanings posted by Adam Quinan on January 09, 2003 at 11:48:01:
A quick google (almost an oxymoron, that) turns up three possible derivations for larboard, "lower-board", assuming that sailors consider the starboard side to be higher in importance (sounds like a real reach to me), "lade-board", the side the vessel's loaded from, which would tie back to "port", and from the French "bas-bord", or OE "baec-borde", meaning "left-board".