skeg

S1K5E1G2
/skɛɡ/

noun

A fin-like structure to the rear of the keel of a vessel that supports the rudder and protects a propeller.

RareScrabble 9

Meanings

nounskeg (plural skegs)

plural skegs

  1. nauticalA fin-like structure to the rear of the keel of a vessel that supports the rudder and protects a propeller.
  2. nauticalA similar construction on a boat that acts as a keel.
  3. A fin that serves to stabilize a surfboard.
  4. AustraliaslangA surfer; a person who leads a surfing lifestyle.
  5. obsoleteA sort of wild plum (Prunus spinosa or Prunus domestica subsp. insititia (syn. Prunus institia)).

    Some take them for Damascen plums, or rather for Bullois, Skegs, or such like wilde Plums.

    1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book II.]”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC
  6. obsoleteA kind of oat.

    SKEGS. A kind of oat, sometimes cultivated as a crop in Nottinghamshire. It is the Avena stipiformis of Linnaeus.

    1842, Cuthbert William Johnson, The farmer's encyclopædia, and dictionary of rural affairs
  7. Northern EnglandA look or glance.

Origin

From a dialectal term for a stump, branch, or wooden peg. Compare shaw and Swedish skog.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch scheg
  • schegrudder-supporting structure
Finnish skegi, köli
  • skegirudder-supporting structure
  • kölisimilar construction on a boat that acts as a keel
  • eväfin that stabilizes a surfboard
French aileron, skeg
  • aileronrudder-supporting structure
  • skegrudder-supporting structure
German Scheg
  • Schegrudder-supporting structure
Italian dragante
  • draganterudder-supporting structure

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with skeg

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Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

skeg. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeg

MLA

“skeg.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeg. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skeg,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skeg.

Source: skeg on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.