gunwale

[guhn-l]

Origin

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noun Nautical.

the upper edge of the side or bulwark of a vessel.

the sheer strake of a wooden vessel; the uppermost strake beneath the plank-sheer.

Also, gunnel.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English. See gun¹, wale¹; a plank so called because guns were set upon it

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Gunwale is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

gunwale or gunnel (ˈɡʌn^əl)

—n
1.	nautical the top of the side of a boat or the topmost plank of a wooden vessel
2.	full to the gunwales completely full; full to overflowing

gunnel or gunnel

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

gunwale

1466, gonne walle, from gun + wale "plank." Originally a platform on the deck of a ship to support the mounted guns.

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Matching Quote

"It is generally supposed that they who have long been conversant with the ocean can foretell, by certain indications, such as its roar and the notes of sea-fowl, when it will change from calm to storm; but probably no such ancient mariner as we dream of exists; they know no more, at least, than the older sailors do about this voyage of life on which we are all embarked. Nevertheless, we love to hear the sayings of old sailors, and their accounts of natural phenomena which totally ignore, and are ignored by, science; and possibly they have not always looked over the gunwale so long in vain."

-Henry David Thoreau

gunwale

gun·wale