Online Encyclopedia
Make a correction
Your email address will not appear on the site. Note, comments may take some time to be approved.
Back to article:
BERTH
Your email:
Article name:
Article content:
BERTH, originally a nautical term, probably connected with the verb " to bear," first found in literature at the end of the 16th century, with the alternative spelling " birth." Its primary meaning is " sea-room," whether on the high seas or at anchor. Hence the phrase " to give a wide berth to," meaning " to keep at a safe distance from," both in its literal and its metaphorical use. From meaning sea-room for a ship at anchor, " berth " comes to mean also the position of a ship at her moorings (" to berth a ship "). The word further means any place on a ship allotted for a special purpose, where the men mess or sleep, or an office or appointment on board, whence the word has passed into colloquial use with the meaning of a situation or employment. From the Icelandic byrdi, a board, is also derived the ship-building term " berth," meaning to board, put up bulk-heads, etc.