BOARD

a piece of timber; subsequently the name given to a table; hence ‘Board of Green Cloth,’ ‘Board of Trade,’ etc., meaning a company of persons sitting in council around a table. In regard to ships, the term ‘board’ is used in innumerable ways, but it may be noted that ‘starboard’ (right-hand side of the ship looking forward) dates back to the times before the invention of the rudder, when a large oar was suspended over the right side of the stern, and was known as the ‘steer-board.’