cutwater

American  

[kuht-waw-ter, -wot-er] / ˈkʌtˌwɔ tər, -ˌwɒt ər /

noun

1. Nautical.

   1. the forward edge of the stem of a vessel, dividing the water as the vessel advances.

   2. a vertical timber construction set forward of and following the stem of a wooden vessel below the water line, usually curving forward above the water line to support a beak-head or figurehead.

2. Civil Engineering. a sharply pointed upstream face of a bridge pier, for resisting the effects of moving water or ice.

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cutwater British  

/ ˈkʌtˌwɔːtə /

noun

1. the forward part of the stem of a vessel, which cuts through the water

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Etymology

Origin of cutwater

First recorded in 1635–45; cut + water

Example Sentences

Other blazes had mysteriously broken out from her cutwater to her overhanging stern.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among shipowners he was famed for reintroducing the vertical figurehead, a figure that stood upright on the cutwater instead of hanging horizontally over the sea.

From Time Magazine Archive

Half a dozen of them started off just ahead of the cutwater, and raced the ship for two hours, keeping exactly the same relative distance ahead without any apparent effort.

From Due South or Cuba Past and Present by Ballou, Maturin Murray

Bowsprit, bō′sprit, n. a strong spar projecting over the stem-head or bows of a sailing-ship, and also of a steamship when her stem is of the curved or cutwater description.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

A black rhinoceros, its wicked-looking head low near the ground, would dash fiercely away, its horn dividing the tangled brushwood after the manner of the cutwater of a boat.

From By Veldt and Kopje by Scully, W. C. (William Charles)