gunwale

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the upper edge of the side of a boat or ship

   A wave broke over the gunwale and flooded the bottom of the dinghy.

From Middle English gonne-wale, formed from gonne ("gun") + wale (a strengthening ridge or plank). The rail formerly supported a ship's guns. Despite its spelling, the word is normally pronounced like gunnel, which is also an accepted variant spelling.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images