abord

See also: à bord

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈbɔːd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈbɔɹd/

Etymology 1

From French abord, from aborder (“to aboard”).

Noun

abord (plural abords)

1. (obsolete) The act of approaching or arriving; approach. [17th–19th c.]
   • 1777, Frances Burney, Journals & Letters, Penguin, published 2001, page 77:

     He entered with an air so immensely conceited and affected, and, at the same Time, so uncommonly bold, that I could scarce stand his Abord […].

2. (rare) A road, or means of approach. [from 17th c.]

Etymology 2

Alternative forms.

Verb

abord (third-person singular simple present abords, present participle abording, simple past and past participle aborded)

1. Alternative form of aboard
   • 1919, Ronald Firbank, Valmouth, hardback edition, Duckworth, page 82:

     Mrs Hurstpierpoint aborded her with a smile.

Anagrams

• bardo, Broda, Board, Bardo, dobra, broad, Broad, Broad., Borda, dorab, B road, Dobra, board, adorb

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French [Term?], from aborder, from Old French aborder (“to hit a ship in order to board it”), from bord (“side of a ship, edge”), from Frankish *bord (“side of a ship or vessel”), from Proto-Germanic *burdą (“edge, border, side”), from Proto-Indo-European *bheredh- (“to cut”). Cognate with Old High German bort (“edge, rim, rand”), Old English bord (“ship, side of a ship”), Old Norse borð (“edge, side of a vessel”). More at board.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.bɔʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

abord m (plural abords)

1. (literary) the manner with which one acts in the presence of another person or persons, especially in a first encounter
   • 2008, Amphibiens et reptiles, →ISBN, page 80:

     Au premier abord, la caouanne est une tortue à très grosse tête.

     At first glance, the loggerhead is a turtle with a very large head.

2. (rare) the surroundings of a place
3. (archaic) arrival or accessibility by water

Usage notes

• In the sense "surroundings", the word is almost always a pluralia tantum.
• The sense "manner of acting" is usually now perceived as a backformation from aborder (“to approach”), and is most common in the expression être d'un abord and variations of it.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• abords
• au premier abord
• aux abords de
• d’abord
• d’abord que
• de prime abord
• d’un abord
• tout d’abord

Related terms

Related terms

• aborder
• babord
• bord
• tribord

Further reading

• “abord”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• borda
• broda

Middle English

Etymology

From a- +‎ bord (“exterior of a ship”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aˈboːrd/

Adverb

abord

1. On board; into or within a ship or boat
2. (nautical) Alongside.

Preposition

abord

1. On board of; onto or into a ship, boat, train, plane.

Descendants

• English: aboard
• Scots: aboord, abaird

References

• “abōrd, adv. & prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.