billet vs starboard

billet

noun
  • An allocated space or berth in a boat or ship. 

  • A short cutting of sugar cane produced by a harvester or used for planting. 

  • A sealed ticket for a draw or lottery. 

  • An ornament in Norman work, resembling a billet of wood, either square or round. 

  • A loop that receives the end of a buckled strap. 

  • Berth; position. 

  • A short piece of wood, especially one used as firewood. 

  • A strap that enters a buckle. 

  • A short informal letter. 

  • A written order to quarter soldiers. 

  • A rectangle used as a charge on an escutcheon. 

  • Temporary lodgings in a private residence, such as is organised for members of a visiting sports team. 

  • A place where a soldier is assigned to lodge. 

  • A semi-finished length of metal. 

verb
  • To lodge, or be quartered, in a private house. 

  • To direct, by a ticket or note, where to lodge. 

  • To lodge soldiers, or guests, usually by order. 

starboard

noun
  • The righthand side of a ship, boat or aircraft when facing the front, or fore or bow. Used to unambiguously refer to directions according to the sides of the vessel, rather than those of a crew member or object. 

  • One of the two traditional watches aboard a ship standing a watch in two. 

verb
  • To put to the right, or starboard, side of a vessel. 

How often have the words billet and starboard occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )