Link Centre Dictionary

berth

UK/bɛɹθ/ US/bɜːθ/ uncommon archaic slang
noun (3) verb (3)

noun

1.

a job in an organization

  • “he occupied a post in the treasury”
Synonyms
2.

a place where a craft can be made fast

Synonyms
3.

a bed on a ship or train; usually in tiers

Synonyms

verb

1.

provide with a berth

2.

secure in or as if in a berth or dock

  • “tie up the boat”
Synonyms
3.

come into or dock at a wharf

  • “the big ship wharfed in the evening”
Synonyms

Origin

The noun is derived from Late Middle English birth (“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”). Further etymology uncertain, but probably from beren (“to carry (away), bear”) + -th (suffix denoting a condition, quality, state of being, etc., forming nouns); if so, the English word is analysable as bear + -th (suffix forming nouns from verbs), and is a piecewise doublet of birth. The verb is derived from the noun.

Phrases

  • foul berth
  • sleeper berth
  • starting berth
  • wide berth

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.