a device for riding upon, usually while standing, consisting of a short, oblong piece of wood, plastic, or aluminum mounted on large roller-skate wheels, used on smooth surfaces and requiring better balance of the rider than the ordinary roller skate does.
1964, noun and verb, from skate (v.) on model of surfboard. The phenomenon began c.1963 in southern California and was nationwide the following summer.
Skateboarding requires only a tapered piece of wood flexibly mounted on roller-skate wheels and a stretch of pavement -- preferably downhill and away from traffic. ["Life," June 5, 1964]
