What does "kedge" mean?

A small anchor used for warping a vessel.

What is a synonym for "kedge"?

Common synonyms include: anchor, board, boom, cast anchor, cast loose, clap on ratlines.

//kɛd͡ʒ// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A small anchor used for warping a vessel.
"...and throw them into the boat, which, as there are no wharves, we usually kept anchored by a small kedge, or keelek, just outside of the surf."
2
A glutton. Yorkshire

Verb

1
To warp (a vessel) by carrying out a kedge in a boat, dropping it overboard, and hauling the vessel up to it. transitive
2
To move with the help of a kedge, as described above. intransitive
"[…] there was a stretch of twelve miles of channel running in a north-easterly direction which the ship could not possibly negotiate under sail unless a change of wind should occur — of which there seemed to be absolutely no prospect. The only alternative, therefore, would be to kedge those twelve miles; truly a most formidable undertaking for four persons — one of them being a girl — to attempt."

"...and throw them into the boat, which, as there are no wharves, we usually kept anchored by a small kedge, or keelek, just outside of the surf."

Perhaps an alteration of cadge.

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