gunwale Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun wale at the top of the side of boat; topmost planking of a wooden vessel
    gunnel; gun rest.

WordNet

Gun"wale noun
Etymology
Gun + wale. So named because the upper guns were pointed from it.
Definitions
  1. (Naut.) The upper edge of a vessel's or boat's side; the uppermost wale of a ship (not including the bulwarks); or that piece of timber which reaches on either side from the quarter-deck to the forecastle, being the uppermost bend, which finishes the upper works of the hull. Written also gunnel.

Webster 1913