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Square Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

the meaning of "board" alone in "seaboard"

Nearly all interstate commerce was carried out by sailing ships that served the bays and harbors of the seaboard.

Source: "Transportation in the United States".
Link: http://element9527.wordpress.com/201...united-states/

I understand the meaning of "seaboard" well. It means "the part of a country that is near the sea".
However, I am interested in the meaning of "board" alone in "seaboard".
I have consulted the meanings of "board" in many dictionaries and couldn't find one that fits here.

Thank you.
  

Top answer

This is not obvious to modern speakers. ] the term bord (the source of our modern word “board”) had two meanings: (1) a plank, shield, shelf, or table; and (2) an edge, rim, or side. " The word "board" by itself, as far as I know, is no longer used to mean edge or rim.

— GPY

  • This is not obvious to modern speakers.
  • ] the term bord (the source of our modern word “board”) had two meanings: (1) a plank, shield, shelf, or table; and (2) an edge, rim, or side.
  • " The word "board" by itself, as far as I know, is no longer used to mean edge or rim.
  • If it is then the meaning is rare.
  • It appears that the common word "border" may be etymologically related though.
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4 Answers
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This is not obvious to modern speakers. According to the article linked below, "In Old English, [...] the term bord (the source of our modern word “board”) had two meanings: (1) a plank, shield, shelf, or table; and (2) an edge, rim, or side. [...] The OED says the two Anglo-Saxon meanings of bord (a plank and an edge) may have been the result of entirely different nouns from
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Hi, GPY.
That meaning makes perfect sense here. I just did research on complex nouns in which "board" means "edge", "border", or "side". However, I couldn't find one except "seaboard".
If you know one, please let me know. Thanks.
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The article that I linked gives “shipboard”, “overboard”, “larboard” and “starboard", all nautical terms. According to http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=outboard , "outboard" is another example. See also : http
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Thank you, GPY, for the interesting links.
I did open the wrong link in your previous post.
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