footboard

[ foot-bawrd, -bohrd ]

noun

1. a board or small platform on which to support the foot or feet. foot.
2. an upright piece across the foot of a bedstead.
3. a treadle.

footboard

/ ˈfʊtˌbɔːd /

noun

1. a treadle or foot-operated lever on a machine
2. a vertical board at the foot of a bed

Word History and Origins

Origin of footboard¹

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65; foot + board

Example Sentences

One was killed when his head hit an overhead railway bridge when he was traveling on the roof of a compartment while the other succumbed to injuries after he fell down from the train’s footboard.

From Seattle Times

“My principle inheritance has always been guilt,” writes Schwarcz, who recalls nights of listening to his insomniac father’s heels rhythmically kick the bed’s footboard.

From New York Times

Young men cling for their lives on the footboards, while the mashed throng inside gasps for air.

From BBC

For all of his epic anti-Catholic rants, Money’s deathbed had the figure of the Virgin Mary at its head and a skeleton carved into its footboard.

From Los Angeles Times

Get rid of footboards or anything that sticks up that you can bump into.

From Washington Post