a crew of shearers working in a particular woolshed.
c.
sheep about to be sheared.
18.
Obsolete. the edge, border, or side of anything.
–verb (used with object)
19.
to cover or close with boards (often fol. by up or over): to board up a house; to board over a well.
20.
to furnish with meals, or with meals and lodging, esp. for pay: They boarded him for $50 a week.
21.
to go on board of or enter (a ship, train, etc.).
22.
to allow on board: We will be boarding passengers in approximately ten minutes.
23.
to come up alongside (a ship), as to attack or to go on board: The pirate ship boarded the clipper.
24.
Obsolete. to approach; accost.
–verb (used without object)
25.
to take one's meals, or be supplied with food and lodging at a fixed price: Several of us board at the same rooming house.
26.
Ice Hockey. to hit an opposing player with a board check.
—Idioms
27.
across the board,
a.
Racing. betting on a horse or dog to finish first, second, or third, so that any result where a selection wins, places, or shows enables the bettor to collect.
b.
applying to or affecting every person, class, group, etc.
28.
go by the board,
a.
to go over the ship's side.
b.
to be destroyed, neglected, or forgotten: All his devoted labor went by the board.
29.
on board,
a.
on or in a ship, plane, or other vehicle: There were several movie stars on board traveling incognito.
b.
Baseball. on base: There were two men on board as the next batter came up.
c.
present and functioning as a member of a team or organization.
O.E. bord "a plank, flat surface," from P.Gmc. *bortham (cf. Goth. fotu-baurd "foot-stool," Ger. Brett "plank"), from PIE *bhrdho- "board," from base *bher- "to cut." See also board (2), with which this is so confused as practically to form one word. A board is thinner than a plank, and generally less than 2.5 inches thick. The transf. meaning "food" (1386) is an extension of the O.E. sense of "table;" hence, also, above board "honest, open" (1620). Another extension is to "council (that meets at a table)," 1613. Boarder is attested from 1530. Boarding-school is from 1677. Boardwalk is from 1872, originally Amer.Eng.
"side of ship," O.E. bord "border, rim, ship's side," from P.Gmc. *bordaz, perhaps from PIE *bhrtos "raised, made projecting." Connected to border (q.v.). See also starboard. Etymologically not related to board (1), but the two forms represented in Eng. by these words were more or less confused at an early date in most Gmc. languages, a situation made worse in Eng. because this Gmc. root was also adopted as M.L. bordus, I. and Sp. bordo, and Fr. bord, in which form it came over with the Normans. By now the senses are inextricably tangled.
a committee having supervisory powers; "the board has seven members"
2.
a stout length of sawn timber; made in a wide variety of sizes and used for many purposes
3.
a flat piece of material designed for a special purpose; "he nailed boards across the windows"
4.
food or meals in general; "she sets a fine table"; "room and board"
5.
a vertical surface on which information can be displayed to public view [syn: display panel]
6.
a table at which meals are served; "he helped her clear the dining table"; "a feast was spread upon the board" [syn: dining table]
7.
electrical device consisting of a flat insulated surface that contains switches and dials and meters for controlling other electrical devices; "he checked the instrument panel"; "suddenly the board lit up like a Christmas tree" [syn: control panel]
8.
a printed circuit that can be inserted into expansion slots in a computer to increase the computer's capabilities [syn: circuit board]
9.
a flat portable surface (usually rectangular) designed for board games; "he got out the board and set up the pieces"
verb
1.
get on board of (trains, buses, ships, aircraft, etc.) [ant: get off]
2.
live and take one's meals at or in; "she rooms in an old boarding house"
3.
lodge and take meals (at)
4.
provide food and lodging (for); "The old lady is boarding three men"
Board\, n. [OE. bord, AS. bord board, shipboard; akin to bred plank, Icel. bor? board, side of a ship, Goth. f?tu-baurd]/> footstool, D. bord board, G. brett, bort. See def. 8. [root]92.]1. A piece of timber sawed thin, and of considerable length and breadth as compared with the thickness, -- used for building, etc. Note: When sawed thick, as over one and a half or two inches, it is usually called a plank. 2. A table to put food upon. Note: The term board answers to the modern table, but it was often movable, and placed on trestles. --Halliwell. Fruit of all kinds . . . She gathers, tribute large, and on the board Heaps with unsparing hand. --Milton. 3. Hence: What is served on a table as food; stated meals; provision; entertainment; -- usually as furnished for pay; as, to work for one's board; the price of board. 4. A table at which a council or court is held. Hence: A council, convened for business, or any authorized assembly or meeting, public or private; a number of persons appointed or elected to sit in council for the management or direction of some public or private business or trust; as, the Board of Admiralty; a board of trade; a board of directors, trustees, commissioners, etc. Both better acquainted with affairs than any other who sat then at that board. --Clarendon. We may judge from their letters to the board. --Porteus. 5. A square or oblong piece of thin wood or other material used for some special purpose, as, a molding board; a board or surface painted or arranged for a game; as, a chessboard; a backgammon board. 6. Paper made thick and stiff like a board, for book covers, etc.; pasteboard; as, to bind a book in boards. 7. pl. The stage in a theater; as, to go upon the boards, to enter upon the theatrical profession. 8. [In this use originally perh. a different word meaning border, margin; cf. D. boord, G. bord, shipboard, and G. borte trimming; also F. bord (fr. G.) the side of a ship. Cf. Border.] The border or side of anything. (Naut.) (a) The side of a ship. "Now board to board the rival vessels row." --Dryden. See On board, below. (b) The stretch which a ship makes in one tack. Note: Board is much used adjectively or as the last part of a compound; as, fir board, clapboard, floor board, shipboard, sideboard, ironing board, chessboard, cardboard, pasteboard, seaboard; board measure. The American Board, a shortened form of "The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions" (the foreign missionary society of the American Congregational churches). Bed and board. See under Bed. Board and board (Naut.), side by side. Board of control, six privy councilors formerly appointed to superintend the affairs of the British East Indies. --Stormonth. Board rule, a figured scale for finding without calculation the number of square feet in a board. --Haldeman. Board of trade, in England, a committee of the privy council appointed to superintend matters relating to trade. In the United States, a body of men appointed for the advancement and protection of their business interests; a chamber of commerce. Board wages. (a) Food and lodging supplied as compensation for services; as, to work hard, and get only board wages. (b) Money wages which are barely sufficient to buy food and lodging. (c) A separate or special allowance of wages for the procurement of food, or food and lodging. --Dryden. By the board, over the board, or side. "The mast went by the board." --Totten. Hence (Fig.), To go by the board, to suffer complete destruction or overthrow. To enter on the boards, to have one's name inscribed on a board or tablet in a college as a student. [Cambridge, England.] "Having been entered on the boards of Trinity college." --Hallam. To make a good board (Naut.), to sail in a straight line when close-hauled; to lose little to leeward. To make short boards, to tack frequently. On board. (a) On shipboard; in a ship or a boat; on board of; as, I came on board early; to be on board ship. (b) In or into a railway car or train. [Colloq. U. S.] Returning board, a board empowered to canvass and make an official statement of the votes cast at an election. [U.S.]
Board\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Boarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Boarding.]1. To cover with boards or boarding; as, to board a house. "The boarded hovel." --Cowper. 2. [Cf. Board to accost, and see Board, n.] To go on board of, or enter, as a ship, whether in a hostile or a friendly way. You board an enemy to capture her, and a stranger to receive news or make a communication. --Totten. 3. To enter, as a railway car. [Colloq. U. S.] 4. To furnish with regular meals, or with meals and lodgings, for compensation; to supply with daily meals. 5. To place at board, for compensation; as, to board one's horse at a livery stable.
Board\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Boarded; p. pr. & vb. n. Boarding.]1. To cover with boards or boarding; as, to board a house. "The boarded hovel." --Cowper. 2. [Cf. Board to accost, and see Board, n.] To go on board of, or enter, as a ship, whether in a hostile or a friendly way. You board an enemy to capture her, and a stranger to receive news or make a communication. --Totten. 3. To enter, as a railway car. [Colloq. U. S.] 4. To furnish with regular meals, or with meals and lodgings, for compensation; to supply with daily meals. 5. To place at board, for compensation; as, to board one's horse at a livery stable.