Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The gunwale of a ship: in the phrase à portoise, said of yard-arms resting on the gunwale.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Naut.) The gunwale of a ship.
  • noun to lower them to the gunwale.
  • noun to ride an anchor with the lower yards and topmasts struck or lowered, as in a gale of wind.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun nautical The gunwale of a ship.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Perhaps from Old French porteis portative, portable.

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Examples

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