Meaning
The left side of a ship, looking from the stern forward to the bow; port side.
Etymology
Origin: Middle English
From Middle English ladde-bord, latebord, most likely referring to the side of the ship on which cargo was loaded. Changed to larboard in the 1500s by association with starboard. (Texts from the 1500s have spellings like lerbord, leereboord, larboord, corresponding to how they spell sterbord, steereboord, starboord.)
Synonyms & Antonyms
Antonyms
starboard
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025, 2026.