ENGLISH
REFERENCE

berth

n. countable
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈbɝθ// UK //bˈɜːθ// berth Archaic Slang

n. a place where you can sleep, like a bunk in a ship or a dormitory. You use this word when talking about shared sleeping spaces.

n. a fixed sleeping place, typically one of several arranged in a row, found on ships, in barracks, or in hostels.


SIMPLE

He climbed into his narrow berth for the night.

CONTEXTUAL

The crew members shared a small cabin with two stacked berths.

COMPLEX

In the cramped quarters of the submarine, every sailor had to make do with a narrow berth that offered little privacy.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

Possibly borrowed from Icelandic byrði (“side of a ship, board”).

Idioms1 entry

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