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Starboard
Starboard is the nautical term that refers to the right side of a vessel as perceived by a person on board the
ship and facing the
bow (front).
The origin of the term comes from old boating practices. Before ships had rudders on their centerline, they were steered by use of a specialized oar. This oar was held by a cocksman located towards the
stern (back) of the ship. However, like most of the rest of society, there were many more right-handed sailors than left-handed sailors. This meant that the right-handed sailors holding the steering oar (which had been broadened to provide better control) used to stand on the right side of the ship. The word starboard comes from Old English steorbord, literally meaning the side on which the ship is steered. The old English term steorbord descends from the Old Norse words stri meaning rudder and bor meaning side of a ship. The modern term "steering wheel" comes from the same language root as "starboard" or "steer board".
Similarly, the term for the left side of the boat,
port, is derived from the practice of sailors mooring on the left side (i.e., the larboard or loading side) as to prevent the steering boards from being crushed. Because the words larboard and starboard sounded too similar to be easily distinguished, larboard was changed to port.
The starboard side of a vessel is indicated with a green navigation light at night.
Here is an easy way to remember "starboard" vs. "port":
Terms referring to the right side are longer words ("starboard", "right", and "green"), while terms referring to the other side are shorter words ("port", "left", and "red").
Another easy way (at least for English speakers) is to simply remember that the word "port" and the word "left" both have four letters in them. Port is left, so naturally, starboard is right.
The starboard side of most naval vessels the world over is designated the 'senior' side. The officers' gangway or sea ladder is shipped on this side and this side of the quarterdeck is reserved for the captain. The flag or pennant of the ship's captain or senior officer in command is generally hoist on the starboard yard.
