Gunwale

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Gunwale \Gun"wale\, n. [Gun + wale. So named because the upper
     guns were pointed from it.] (Naut.)
     The upper edge of a vessel's or boat's side; the uppermost
     wale of a ship (not including the bulwarks); or that piece of
     timber which reaches on either side from the quarter-deck to
     the forecastle, being the uppermost bend, which finishes the


     upper works of the hull. [Written also {gunnel}.]
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  gunwale
       n : wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a
           wooden vessel [syn: {gunnel}, {gun rest}]