to run aboard of
Preserved but no longer current.
To run foul of another ship. See also ABOARD. Boast of England, The. A name given to "Tom Thumb" or "Tom-a-lin" by Richard Johnson, who in 1599 published a "history of this ever-renowned soldier, the Red Rose Knight, surnamed The Boast of England, showing his honourable victories in foreign countries, with his strange fortunes in Faery Land, and how he married the fair Angliterra, daughter of Prester John. . . .
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to run aboard of” mean?
To run foul of another ship. See also ABOARD. Boast of England, The. A name given to "Tom Thumb" or "Tom-a-lin" by Richard Johnson, who in 1599 published a "history of this ever-renowned soldier, the Red Rose Knight, surnamed The Boast of England, showing his honourable victories in foreign countries, with his strange fortunes in Faery Land, and how he married the fair Angliterra, daughter of Prester John. . . .
Is “to run aboard of” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.