A sleeping place on a ship, train, or plane; or a mooring position for a ship at a dock.
From nautical terminology, possibly derived from Old English 'beorh' (shelter) or influenced by the word 'birth.' It entered English in the 1500s as a maritime term for the space where a ship docks or where sailors sleep.
The phrase 'give someone a wide berth' (meaning to stay away from them) comes directly from the nautical berth—ships literally needed space around them, so a 'wide berth' was a safe distance!
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