the forward edge of the stem of a vessel, dividing the water as the vessel advances.
b.
a vertical timber construction set forward of and following the stem of a wooden vessel below the water line, usually curving forward above the water line to support a beak-head or figurehead.
2.
Civil Engineering. a sharply pointed upstream face of a bridge pier, for resisting the effects of moving water or ice.
[kuht-waw-ter, -wot-er] 
tər