skeg

American  

[skeg] / skɛg /

noun

Nautical.

1. a projection supporting a rudder at its lower end, located abaft a sternpost or rudderpost.

2. an extension of the keel of a small craft, designed to improve steering.

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skeg British  

/ skɛɡ /

noun

1. a reinforcing brace between the after end of a keel and the rudderpost

2. a support at the bottom of a rudder

3. a projection from the forefoot of a vessel for towing paravanes

4. any short keel-like projection at the stern of a boat

5. a rear fin on the underside of a surfboard

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Etymology

Origin of skeg

1590–1600; < Dutch scheg cutwater < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse skegg projection on the stern of a boat

Example Sentences

They also added a key feature, the skeg or bottom-of-the-board rudder and, yes, they invented the wetsuit.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 20, 2018

My skeg gently bumped on the bigger rocks.

From The New Yorker • May 25, 2015

Most seemed to take a steep path up the mountainside to Diamond Head Road, their pale boards, carried on their heads, moving steadily, skeg first, through the switchbacks.

From The New Yorker • May 25, 2015

The dining room, for example, features a curvy banquette, known as the wave, that wraps around a surfboard-shaped table with a removable skeg at one end.

From Architectural Digest • Nov. 1, 2010

Skeg, skeg, n. a stump, branch: the after-part of a ship's keel.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various