3 ms·

it's the side of the ship with the steering; the other side, port, was pulled up to the dock to keep "the steerboard" out of the way.

• danaris 4y ago
  That may be the origin of the terms "port" and "starboard", but they long ago came to simply mean the left and right sides of a ship, respectively.
  • fsckboy 4y ago
    you are not always facing or travelling forward which is why they are explicity not the right and left sides.