Etymology

gunwale

G2U1N1W4A1L1E1

Today it means: The top edge of the hull of a nautical vessel, at or above where the hull meets the deck. Full definition →

Middle English gonnewalle
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The story

  1. Middle English · derived fromgonnewalle
  2. English todaygunwale

From Middle English gonnewalle, itself from gonne (“gun”) + wale, as it used to support the ship's guns; equivalent to gun + wale.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishgonnewalle all →

gunnel

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.