bow wave

English

Bow wave

Noun

bow wave (plural bow waves)

1. The wave that forms at the bow of a ship as it moves through the water, and defines the outer limits of the ship's wake.
   • 1942, Neville Shute, Pied Piper, New York: William Morrow & Co., Chapter 11,^[1]

     But in the half light of dawn, at about half past four, a destroyer came towards them from the west, throwing a deep, feathery bow wave of white foam aside as she cut through the water, bearing down on them.

Translations

a wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water

• Danish: bovbølge c
• German: Bugwelle (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: piha, pihapiha