Etymology

berth

B3E1R1T1H4

Today it means: A place for a vessel to lie at anchor or to moor. Full definition →

Middle English birth
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berth · noun, verb1

  1. Middle English · inherited frombirth“(nautical) bearing away or off, clearance, berth”
  2. English todayberth

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.

berth · verb2

  1. Icelandic · borrowed frombyrði“side of a ship, board”
  2. English todayberth

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

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.