Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BERTH, n. [from the root of bear.]

1. A station in which a ship rides at anchor, comprehending the space in which she ranges. In more familiar usage, the word signifies any situation or place, where a vessel lies or can lie, whether at anchor or at a wharf.
2. A room or apartment in a ship, where a number of officers or men mess and reside.
3. The box or place for sleeping at the sides of a cabin; the place for a hammoc, or a repository for chests, &c. To berth, in seamen's language, is to allot to each man a place for his hammoc.