What does "gunwale" mean?

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

What is a synonym for "gunwale"?

Common synonyms include: companion, gun rest, gunnel, parts, ship.

//ˈɡʌnəl// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The top edge of the hull of a nautical vessel, where it meets the deck.
2
wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel wordnet

"The little mermaid laid her white arms on the gunwale and looked eastward for the pink-tinted dawn."

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

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.