From Middle English boord , boorde , bord , bourd , burd , from Old English bord , from Proto-West Germanic *bord , from Proto-Germanic *burdą ( “ board, plank; edge; table ” ) , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- ( “ tip, top ” ) + *-dʰh₁eti or *bʰerH- ( “ to pierce; to strike ” ) + *-dʰh₁eti . The senses "food" and "council" are by metonymy from the sense "table."
Cognates
Cognate with Scots buird ( “ board; table ” ) , Yola borde ( “ table ” ) , West Frisian boerd ( “ board ” ) , Dutch bord ( “ dish, plate; board, plank; sign ” ) , boord ( “ border, boundary; bank, shore ” ) , German Bord ( “ shelf ” ) , Danish , Norwegian Bokmål , Norwegian Nynorsk , and Swedish bord ( “ plank; table ” ) , Elfdalian buord ( “ table ” ) , Faroese and Icelandic borð ( “ board, plank; table ” ) , Gothic *𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 ( *baurd , “ board, plank ” ) (whence 𐍆𐍉𐍄𐌿𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 ( fōtubaurd , “ footstool ” ) .
board (countable and uncountable , plural boards )
A relatively long, wide and thin piece of any material, usually wood or similar, often for use in construction or furniture -making.
1897 December (indicated as 1898 ), Winston Churchill , chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode , New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company ; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd. , →OCLC :Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
A device (e.g. , switchboard ) containing electrical switches and other controls and designed to control lights , sound , telephone connections , etc.
A flat surface with markings for playing a board game .
Each player starts the game with four counters on the board .
Short for blackboard , whiteboard , chessboard , surfboard , circuit board , message board (on the Internet), bulletin board , etc.
A committee that manages the business of an organization , e.g. , a board of directors .
We have to wait to hear back from the board .
( uncountable ) Regular meals in a place of lodging ; the price paid for them.
His board was served by his landlady, the owner of the boarding house. [meals]
His board seemed a bit steep, but he accepted it because the house was clean and his fellow lodgers were respectful neighbors. [price for meals]
( nautical ) The side of a ship .
1697 , Virgil , “The Fifth Book of the Æneis ”, in John Dryden , transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. [ … ] , London: [ … ] Jacob Tonson , [ … ] , →OCLC :Now board to board the rival vessels row.
( nautical ) The distance a sailing vessel runs between tacks when working to windward .
( ice hockey , often in the plural ) The wall that surrounds an ice hockey rink .
( archaic ) A long, narrow table, like that used in a medieval dining hall.
1667 , John Milton , “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. [ … ] , London: [ … ] [Samuel Simmons ], and are to be sold by Peter Parker [ … ] ; [ a] nd by Robert Boulter [ … ] ; [ a] nd Matthias Walker, [ … ] , →OCLC ; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: [ … ] , London: Basil Montagu Pickering [ … ] , 1873 , →OCLC :Fruit of all kinds [ …] / She gathers, tribute large, and on the board / Heaps with unsparing hand.
1890 , Algernon Blackwood , Christmas in England , Methodist Magazine Volume 32 pg 481.
The real beginning of the festivities is on Christmas-eve, when the large parties meet their friends from far and near round the festive board .
1913 , Norman Lindsay , A Curate in Bohemia , Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932 , page 17 :"A man," added Cripps, pointing at the MacQuibble, who took no manner of notice, but smoked impassively, "who comes to my hospitable board meanly disguised as an artist, and filches the table wine."
1961 , Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths , New York: The New American Library, page 26 :“Take your seat at my board , and let me drink to your health.”
2007 , J. R. R. Tolkien edited by Christopher Tolkien , The Children of Húrin :Túrin took a seat without heed, for he was wayworn, and filled with thought; and by ill-luck he set himself at a board among the elders of the realm, and in that place where Saeros was accustomed to sit.
Paper made thick and stiff like a board, for book covers, etc.; pasteboard .
to bind a book in boards
( video games ) A level or stage having a particular two-dimensional layout .
2004 , Dan Whitehead, Martyn Carroll, Shaun Bebbington, “Future Shocks”, in Your Sinclair , number 94 :The object of the game is to move the smiley face over the preset board , in doing so removing the green squares and ending up at the exit [ …]
2015 , Hiddenstuff Entertainment, Candy Crush Soda Saga Game Guide , page 23 :You are able to then change a color candy with any candy around the board , similar to the way you are able to with color bomb candies.
( TCGs ) The portion of the playing field where creatures or minions can be placed (or played , summoned , etc.).
( bridge ) A container for holding pre-dealt cards that is used to allow multiple sets of players to play the same cards.
( local government ) A Philippine provincial or Uruguayan departmental assembly or council .
long, wide and thin piece of wood or other material
Albanian: dhogë (sq) f
Altai:
Southern Altai: такта ( takta )
Arabic: لَوْحَة f ( lawḥa ) , خَشَبَة f ( ḵašaba )
Armenian: տախտակ (hy) ( taxtak )
Azerbaijani: taxta (az) , lövhə (az)
Bangi: libaya
Bashkir: таҡта ( taqta ) ( wooden )
Belarusian: до́шка f ( dóška )
Bengali: তক্তা (bn) ( tokta )
Bulgarian: дъска́ (bg) f ( dǎská )
Burmese: ပျဉ် (my) ( pyany )
Catalan: post (ca) f , tauler (ca) m
Cherokee: ᎠᏯᏖᎾ ( ayatena )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 板 (zh) ( bǎn ) , 板子 (zh) ( bǎnzi )
Comorian:
Ngazidja Comorian: uɓao class 11 /10 , ɓao class 5 /6
Czech: prkno (cs) n , deska (cs) f
Danish: bræt (da) n
Dutch: plank (nl) f
Esperanto: tabulo (eo)
Estonian: laud (et)
Finnish: lauta (fi)
French: planche (fr) f
Galician: táboa (gl) f , bordo (gl) m
Georgian: ფიცარი (ka) ( picari )
German: Brett (de) n
Alemannic German: Brittli n
Greek: σανίδα (el) f ( sanída )
Ancient Greek: ἄβαξ m ( ábax ) , σανίς f ( sanís )
Hebrew: לוּחַ (he) m ( lúakh )
Hindi: तख़्ता m ( taxtā ) , तख्ता (hi) m ( takhtā ) , पट्ट (hi) ( paṭṭ )
Hungarian: deszka (hu) , tábla (hu) , lap (hu)
Icelandic: borð (is) n
Irish: clár
Italian: asse (it) f , tavola (it) f
Japanese: 板 (ja) ( いた, ita )
Kazakh: тақта (kk) ( taqta )
Khmer: ក្ដារ (km) ( kdaa )
Korean: 판자(板子) (ko) ( panja )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تەختە ( texte ) , تەتە (ckb) ( tete )
Northern Kurdish: texte (ku)
Kyrgyz: такта (ky) f ( takta )
Lao: ກະດານ (lo) ( ka dān )
Latin: tabula f
Latvian: dēlis (lv) m
Lingala: libaya
Lithuanian: lenta (lt) f
Macedonian: даска f ( daska )
Malay: papan (ms)
Malayalam: പലക (ml) ( palaka )
Māori: papa , kōpapa
Middle English: bord , schyd , brede
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: банз (mn) ( banz )
Moore: rao-peoko
Navajo: tsineheeshjííʼ
Norwegian:
Bokmål: bord (no) n , planke m
Nynorsk: bord n , planke m
Occitan: pòst (oc) f , taula (oc) f , planca
Ojibwe: nabagisag
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: дъска f ( dŭska )
Old English: bord n
Pannonian Rusyn: деска f ( deska )
Pashto: تخته (ps) f ( taxtá )
Persian:
Dari: تَخْتَه ( taxta )
Iranian Persian: تَخْتِه ( taxte )
Plautdietsch: Brat n
Polish: deska (pl) f
Portuguese: tábua (pt)
Quechua: llapsa k'ulllu
Romanian: scândură (ro) f
Russian: доска́ (ru) f ( doská )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: да̀ска f
Latin: dàska (sh) f
Slovak: doska f , panel m
Slovene: deska (sl) f
Spanish: tablero (es) m , tabla (es) f
Swahili: bao (sw)
Swedish: bräda (sv) c , skiva (sv) c
Tajik: тахта ( taxta )
Tatar: такта (tt) ( taqta )
Telugu: చెక్కబల్ల ( cekkaballa )
Thai: กระดาน (th) ( grà-daan )
Turkish: tahta (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: تخته ( tahta )
Turkmen: tagta
Ukrainian: до́шка (uk) f ( dóška )
Unami: sikaxkw
Urdu: تَخْتَہ m ( taxta )
Uyghur: تاختا ( taxta )
Uzbek: taxta (uz)
Vietnamese: bảng (vi) , ván (vi) , phiến (vi)
Welsh: bwrdd (cy) m , astell f
Yiddish: ברעט f or n ( bret ) , טאָוול m ( tovl )
Yup'ik: tuskaq
device containing electrical switches
Bulgarian: табло́ (bg) n ( tabló )
Dutch: paneel (nl) n , bord (nl) n , controlebord n
Finnish: taulu (fi) , sähkötaulu , kytkintaulu
French: compteur (fr) m
German: Pult (de) n
Greek: πίνακας (el) m ( pínakas )
Hebrew: לוּחַ (he) m ( lúaẖ )
Hungarian: kapcsolótábla (hu) , műszerfal (hu) , panel (hu)
Indonesian: panel (id)
Italian: quadro (it) m
Malay: papan (ms)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tavle c , panel n
Polish: panel (pl) m
Portuguese: painel de controle m
Russian: коммута́тор (ru) m ( kommutátor ) , стенд (ru) m ( stɛnd ) , пане́ль (ru) f ( panɛ́lʹ ) , табло́ (ru) n ( tabló )
Slovak: doska
Spanish: tablero (es) m
Swahili: bao (sw)
Swedish: bord (sv) n , panel (sv) c
short for blackboard, whiteboard, etc.
Arabic: لَوْحَة f ( lawḥa ) , لَوْح m ( lawḥ )
Gulf Arabic: لوحَة f ( lōḥə )
Bashkir: таҡта ( taqta )
Belarusian: до́шка f ( dóška )
Bulgarian: дъска́ (bg) f ( dǎská )
Burmese: ဘုတ် (my) ( bhut )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 黑板 (zh) ( hēibǎn ) , ( whiteboard ) 白板 (zh) ( báibǎn )
Czech: tabule (cs) f
Dutch: bord (nl) n
Esperanto: karto ( circuit board )
Faroese: talva f
Finnish: taulu (fi)
French: tableau (fr) m , plateau (fr) m , planche (fr) f
German: Tafel (de) f
Greek: πίνακας (el) m ( pínakas )
Hebrew: לוּחַ (he) m ( lúakh )
Hindi: बोर्ड (hi) m ( borḍ )
Hungarian: tábla (hu)
Irish: clár
Italian: lavagna (it) f
Japanese: 黒板 (ja) ( こくばん, kokuban ) , ホワイトボード (ja) ( howaitobōdo ) ( whiteboard )
Korean: 칠판(漆板) (ko) ( chilpan )
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: تەختە ( texte )
Latvian: tāfele (lv) f
Malay: papan (ms)
Māori: papatuhituhi
Mongolian:
Cyrillic: самбар (mn) ( sambar )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: tavle m or f , brett (no) n
Persian:
Dari: تَخْتَه ( taxta )
Iranian Persian: تَخْتِه ( taxte )
Polish: tablica (pl) f
Portuguese: quadro (pt) m , lousa (pt) f
Russian: доска́ (ru) f ( doská )
Slovak: tabuľa
Spanish: pizarra (es) f , pizarrón (es) m
Swahili: bao (sw)
Swedish: tavla (sv) c
Tajik: тахта ( taxta )
Telugu: నల్లబల్ల ( nallaballa ) , తెల్లబల్ల ( tellaballa )
Turkish: tahta (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: تخته ( tahta )
Ukrainian: до́шка (uk) f ( dóška )
Urdu: تَخْتَہ m ( taxta )
Uzbek: doska (uz)
Vietnamese: bảng (vi)
managing committee
Arabic: مَجْلِس m ( majlis ) , لَجْنَة f ( lajna ) , هَيْأَت m ( hayʔat )
Azerbaijani: heyət (az) , şura , idarə heyəti
Belarusian: кіраўні́цтва n ( kirawníctva ) , праўле́нне n ( prawljénnje ) , камітэ́т m ( kamitét ) , ра́да f ( ráda )
Bengali: মজলিস (bn) ( mojoliś ) , পর্ষদ (bn) ( porśod )
Bulgarian: съве́т (bg) m ( sǎvét ) , борд (bg) m ( bord ) , комите́т (bg) m ( komitét )
Burmese: ဘုတ် (my) ( bhut )
Catalan: mesa (ca) f , junta (ca) f
Chinese:
Cantonese: 委員會 / 委员会 ( wai2 jyun4 wui6-2 )
Mandarin: 委員會 / 委员会 (zh) ( wěiyuánhuì )
Czech: výbor (cs) m , komise (cs) f , rada (cs) f
Danish: bestyrelse (da) c , råd n
Dutch: raad (nl) m
Faroese: nevnd f
Finnish: hallitus (fi) , johtokunta (fi) , lautakunta (fi)
French: conseil d'administration (fr) m
Galician: consello (gl) m , padroádego m
German: Gremium (de) n , Vorstand (de) m , Rat (de) m , Ausschuss (de) m
Greek: συμβούλιο (el) n ( symvoúlio ) , επιτροπή (el) f ( epitropí )
Hindi: बोर्ड (hi) m ( borḍ ) , मंडल (hi) m ( maṇḍal ) , परिषद (hi) m ( pariṣad )
Hungarian: testület (hu) , bizottság (hu) , tanács (hu) , zsűri (hu) , grémium (hu)
Italian: consiglio di amministrazione (it) , comitato (it)
Japanese: 委員会 (ja) ( いいんかい, iinkai ) , ボード (ja) ( bōdo )
Korean: 위원회(委員會) (ko) ( wiwonhoe ) , 보드 ( bodeu )
Macedonian: одбор m ( odbor ) , комите́т m ( komitét )
Māori: poari
Navajo: tsineheeshjííʼ
Norwegian:
Bokmål: styre (no) n
Occitan: conselh d'administracion
Persian:
Dari: هَیْئَت ( hay'at )
Iranian Persian: هِیْئَت ( hey'at )
Polish: rada (pl) f , komitet (pl) m , zarząd (pl) m
Portuguese: conselho (pt) m , comitê (pt) m , junta (pt) f
Russian: правле́ние (ru) n ( pravlénije ) , пала́та (ru) f ( paláta ) , сове́т (ru) m ( sovét ) , руково́дство (ru) n ( rukovódstvo ) , колле́гия (ru) f ( kollégija ) , комите́т (ru) m ( komitét )
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: о̀дбор m , комѝте̄т m
Latin: òdbor (sh) m , komìtēt (sh) m
Slovak: výbor , komisia , rada , panel
Spanish: consejo (es) m , comité (es) m , junta (es) f , buró (es) m , consejo de administración m
Swahili: bodi (sw)
Swedish: styrelse (sv) , nämnd (sv)
Telugu: బోర్డు ( bōrḍu ) , సమితి (te) ( samiti )
Turkish: heyet (tr) , kurul (tr)
Ottoman Turkish: مجلس ( meclis ) , مشورت ( meşveret )
Ukrainian: керівни́цтво (uk) n ( kerivnýctvo ) , правлі́ння (uk) n ( pravlínnja ) , коміте́т (uk) m ( komitét ) , ра́да (uk) f ( ráda )
Urdu: بورْڈ m ( borḍ )
Uzbek: kengash (uz) , komitet (uz)
regular meals or amount paid for them in a place of lodging
nautical: distance between tacks
wall surrounding ice hockey rink
video games: level or stage having a particular layout
Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
duplicate bridge: container for holding pre-dealt cards
Bulgarian: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: korttiteline
Translations to be checked
board (third-person singular simple present boards , present participle boarding , simple past and past participle boarded )
( transitive ) To step or climb onto or otherwise enter a ship , aircraft , train or other conveyance .
It is time to board the aircraft.
1862 , Benjamin J. Totten, Naval Text-Book, and Dictionary, for the use of the Midshipmen of the U.S. Navy :You board an enemy to capture her, and a stranger to receive news or make a communication.
1999 , Murray A. Rubinstein, editor, Taiwan: A New History [1] , M.E. Sharpe , →ISBN , →OCLC , →OL , page ix :Yuan-chu-min history, that of the island’s southern Min speaking Han Chinese, is in evidence farther east, in Nan-t'ou county. After reaching the heart of Nan-t'ou' city, the county’s center of government and also home to Taiwan’s provincial government, one can board a bus to ascend the mountains that dominate much of the central and eastern landscape of the island.
2022 November 2, Paul Bigland, “New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL , number 969 , page 57 :I have just enough time for a "swifty" in the reopened (but on this day just about to close) '301' bar on Platform 4 before boarding a two-car Northern Class 158 working the 1824 to Leeds.
For more quotations using this term, see Citations:board .
Antonyms: alight , disembark
( transitive ) To provide someone with meals and lodging, usually in exchange for money .
to board one’s horse at a livery stable
( transitive ) To receive meals and lodging in exchange for money.
February 8, 1712 , Charity Frost, The Spectator No. 296 (letter to the editor)
We are several of us, gentlemen and ladies, who board in the same house,
( transitive , nautical ) To (at least attempt to) capture an enemy ship by going alongside and grappling her, then invading her with a boarding party .
( intransitive ) To obtain meals, or meals and lodgings , statedly for compensation
( transitive , now rare ) To approach (someone); to make advances to, accost .
To cover with boards or boarding .
to board a house
To hit (someone) with a wooden board.
( transitive ) To write something on a board, especially a blackboard or whiteboard .
to step or climb onto
Arabic: اِسْتَقَلَّ ( istaqalla ) , صَعِدَ ( ṣaʕida )
Armenian: please add this translation if you can
Bulgarian: качвам се на борда ( kačvam se na borda )
Catalan: embarcar (ca) , pujar (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: ( ship ) 上船 (zh) ( shàngchuán ) , ( plane ) 登機 / 登机 (zh) ( dēngjī )
Comorian:
Ngazidja Comorian: upashia
Dutch: aan boord gaan , opstappen (nl) , instappen (nl)
Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
Finnish: nousta (fi) , astua (fi)
French: monter (à bord de) , embarquer (fr)
Georgian: please add this translation if you can
German: an Bord gehen , einsteigen (de)
Greek:
Ancient Greek: ἐπιβαίνω ( epibaínō )
Hungarian: felszáll (hu) , beszáll (hu)
Ido: abordar (io)
Italian: imbarcarsi (it) , salire a bordo
Japanese: 乗り込む (ja) ( のりこむ, norikomu ) , 乗る (ja) ( のる, noru )
Khmer: ឡើងជិះ ( laəngcih ) , ឡើង (km) ( laəng )
Korean: 타다 (ko) ( tada ) , 탑승하다 ( tapseunghada )
Kyrgyz: кемеге отур (ky) f ( kemege otur )
Latin: conscendō
Māori: eke
Norwegian: borde (no) , entre (no) , gå ombord
Old English: stīġan
Polish: wchodzić na pokład
Portuguese: embarcar (pt)
Russian: сади́ться (ru) impf ( sadítʹsja ) , сесть (ru) pf ( sestʹ ) , подня́ться /поднима́ться на бо́рт impf ( podnjátʹsja/podnimátʹsja na bórt )
Slovak: nastúpiť , nastupovať
Spanish: abordar (es) , embarcar (es) , subir (es)
Swahili: panda (sw)
Swedish: gå ombord
Thai: ขึ้น (th) ( kʉ̂n )
Turkish:
Ottoman Turkish: بینمك ( binmek )
Ukrainian: сідати (uk) ( sidaty ) , сі́сти pf ( sísty )
Vietnamese: lên (vi)
to provide someone with meals and lodging
to receive meals and lodging in exchange for money
nautical: to capture an enemy ship
From backboard .
board (plural boards )
( basketball , informal ) A rebound .
bardo , Broda , Bardo , dobra , broad , Broad , Broad. , Borda , dorab , B road , abord , Dobra , adorb
A man with a board .
board m
( Dutch Low Saxon ) alternative form of Baart
Unadapted borrowing from English board .
board n (plural boarduri )
board ( of an organization )