GUNWALE

gunwale, gunnel, gun rest

(noun) wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

gunwale (plural gunwales)

(nautical) The top edge of the hull of a nautical vessel, where it meets the deck.

Source: Wiktionary


Gun"wale, n. Etym: [Gun + wale. So named because the upper guns were pointed from it.] (Naut.)

Definition: 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.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

4 April 2025

GUILLOTINE

(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”


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Coffee Trivia

Coffee dates back to the 9th century. Goat herders in Ethiopia noticed their goats seem to be “dancing” after eating berries from a particular shrub. They reported it to the local monastery, and a monk made a drink out of it. The monk found out he felt energized and kept him awake at night. That’s how the first coffee drink was born.

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