Gunwale (?), n. [Gun + wale. So named because the upper guns were pointed from it.] (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.]
[1913 Webster]