Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOARD, n. [Sax. bord and bred, a board, or table; Goth. baurd; Sw. bord, and bräde; D. boord, a board, a hem, border, margin; Ger. bord, a board, a brim, bank, border; and bret, a board, or plank; Dan. bord, a board, a table; bræde, a board, or plank; and bred, a border; W. bwrz, a board or table; Ir. bord, a table, a border. This word and broad seem to be allied in origin, and the primary sense is to open or spread, whence broad, dilated.]

1. A piece of timber sawed thin and of considerable length and breadth, compared with the thickness, used for building and other purposes.
2. A table. The table of our rude ancestors was a piece of board, perhaps originally laid upon the knees. “Lauti cibum capiunt; separata singulis sedes, et sua cuique mensa.” The Germans wash before they eat, and each has a separate seat, and his own table. – Tacitus, De Mor. Germ. 22.
3. Entertainment; food; diet; as, the price of board is two, five, or seven dollars a week.
4. A table at which a council or court is held; hence a council, convened for business, or any authorized assembly or meeting; as, a board of directors.
5. The deck of a ship; the interior part of a ship or boat; used in the phrase, on board, aboard. In this phrase however, the sense is primarily the side of the ship. To go aboard is to go over the side.
6. The side of a ship. [Fr. bord; Sp. borda.] Now board to board the rival vessels row. – Dryden. To fall over board, that is, over the side; the mast went by the board. Board and board, side by side.
7. The line over which a ship runs between tack and tack. To make a good board, is to sail in a straight line, when close hauled. To make short boards, is to tack frequently. – Mar. Dict.
8. A table for artificers to sit or work on.
9. A table or frame for a game; as, a chessboard, &c.
10. A body of men constituting a quorum in session; a court or council; as, a board of trustees; a board of officers.