gun rest
- noun
- Jargon
:
costado
- The carpenter measured the height of the gun rest to ensure it was level with the deck.
Examples
-
We stacked shot bags on the bench to make a gun rest.
Fiction book (1992) -
The fisherman built a stable gun rest on the side of his boat to steady his rod.
-
She carefully placed her rifle on the gun rest before taking aim.
Synonyms
3
9.9
The top edge of the side of a boat or ship you can hold to steady yourself
1
9.9
The top edge along the side of a boat used to sit on or hold things
Surface Forms
Morphology
gun + rest
The sense "the wale at the top of the side of a boat" cannot be derived from the ordinary meanings of 'gun' (a firearm or cannon) and 'rest' (a support); a B1 learner knowing the parts would likely interpret it as a device for supporting a gun. This is a specialized, historical/nautical lexical item (related to 'gunwale'/'gunnel') whose meaning is lexicalized and unpredictable from its components, so it is opaque to learners.
Etymology
The term gun rest comes from old wooden ships. It named the strong plank at the top of a ship's side where the gun would rest, so the phrase now means the topmost plank on the side of a boat.