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Glite Dictionary
daggerboard

daggerboard

1 9.5
A board that slides down under a small sailboat to stop it sliding sideways and help it go straight
  • noun
  • /ˈdæɡərˌbɔrd/
  • Specialized
: tabla de daga
  • Adjusting the daggerboard helped the small sailboat maintain its course in strong winds.

Examples

  • 9.5 A daggerboard shall not translate longitudinally more than 0.020 m within the bearing referred to in 9.4 above.

    Blog text (27)

  • When fully retracted, daggerboards shall extend no more than 0.500 m below MWP.

    Blog text (27)

  • At all times when racing, daggerboard cases or trunks shall effectively drain within ten seconds of the hull being lifted above the water level, and shall not be designed to retain water when not immersed.

    Blog text (27)

  • 9.9 Daggerboards shall not be designed or used to generate force for the purpose or effect of increasing righting moment when used on the windward side of an AC72 yacht.

    Blog text (27)

  • The sailor lowered the daggerboard into the water to improve the boat's stability while racing.

  • After he raised the daggerboard, the sailboat glided smoothly across the lake.

Surface Forms

daggerboard singular
daggerboards plural

Morphology

daggerboard = dagger + board (semi-transparent) = dagger + board

The parts 'dagger' and 'board' are form-transparent, but the specialized nautical sense (a retractable keel-like board) is technical and not fully derivable by the average learner.

Etymology

Daggerboard comes from the words dagger and board, where dagger means 'short pointed knife' and board means 'flat piece of wood'. It was named that because this board slides down like a vertical blade under a boat to keep it steady and help it go straight.