Boat positions
Formerly larboard was used instead of port. This is from Middle English ladebord and the term lade is related to the modern load. Larboard sounded very similar to starboard and in 1844 the Royal Navy ordered that port be used instead. Larboard continued to be used well into the 1850s by whalers. In Old English the word was bæcbord, which is used in other European languages, for example as the German backbord and the French term bâbord (derived in turn from Middle Dutch).