gunnel

1
[ guhn-l ]

noun
  1. any small eellike blenny of the family Pholididae (Pholidae), especially Pholis gunnellus(rock gunnel, orbutterfish ), common in shallow waters of the North Atlantic.

Origin of gunnel

1
First recorded in 1680–90; origin uncertain
  • Also called brack·et·ed blen·ny.

Other definitions for gunnel (2 of 2)

gunnel2
[ guhn-l ]

nounNautical.

Origin of gunnel

2
1425–75; Middle English. See gunwale

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gunnel in a sentence

  • Our foreign policy canoe is filled to the gunnels with catch-and-release trout armed with AK-47s.

    My Coffee Klatch With Rand Paul | P. J. O’Rourke | September 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • She is 50 feet long, 12 feet wide—the gunnels and gunnel plank are oak, and the rest of her poplar.

  • The canoe sank lower and lower as the foam-streaked water slopped in over the gunnels.

  • Even the "gunnels" were sometimes used in Cincinnati as foundations for houses.

    The Old Northwest | Frederic Austin Ogg
  • It was easy to see that the craft was partly waterlogged, though still having her gunnels a considerable distance above the water.

    Afloat on the Flood | Lawrence J. Leslie
  • Findlayson saw the fleet open and swing out fanwise to a long-drawn shriek of wire straining across gunnels.

    The Bridge-Builders | Rudyard Kipling

British Dictionary definitions for gunnel (1 of 2)

gunnel1

/ (ˈɡʌnəl) /


noun
  1. any eel-like blennioid fish of the family Pholidae, occurring in coastal regions of northern seas: See also butterfish

Origin of gunnel

1
C17: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for gunnel (2 of 2)

gunnel2

/ (ˈɡʌnəl) /


noun
  1. a variant spelling of gunwale

Origin of gunnel

2
C15: from gun + wale 1 from its use to support guns

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012