gunwale
Americannoun
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the upper edge of the side or bulwark of a vessel.
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the sheer strake of a wooden vessel; the uppermost strake beneath the plank-sheer.
noun
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nautical the top of the side of a boat or the topmost plank of a wooden vessel
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completely full; full to overflowing
Etymology
Origin of gunwale
1325–75; Middle English. See gun 1, wale 1; a plank so called because guns were set upon it
Explanation
A gunwale is the very top edge of a boat's side. You might rest your paddle on your canoe's gunwale while you take a break in the middle of a pond. Nearly all boats have a gunwale, from the reinforced strip around the edge of a canoe to a narrow canal boat's wider gunwale that allows people to walk around the center cabin. Originally, this edge was called a "gun ridge," a band strong enough to support the weapons that were used on a war ship. A wale in this context is a "plank," from the Old English walu, "ridge."
Vocabulary lists containing gunwale
The Odyssey
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The Old Man and the Sea
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Treasure Island
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gunwale, Gunnel, gun′el, n. the wale or upper edge of a ship's side next to the bulwarks, so called because the upper guns are pointed from it.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
There were a number of Thwarts laid a Cross and Lashed to each Gunwale as a strengthening to the boat.
From Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World by Cook, James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
