Sandboard

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A short board resembling a snowboard, used for gliding down the slopes of sand dunes ; to travel downhill on such a board over desert sand
2. An board-like device ridden over the faces of dunes for sliding ; to perform the activity of descending dunes while balanced on such a board
3. A wide, flat board designed for coasting over loose sand ; to ride that board down the sandy slope of a dune for recreation

Etymology: Sandboarding is about as transparent as English compounds get: the word is simply "sand" joined to "board," with nothing hidden in either part. The "board" is the same word that gives us surfboard and snowboard, and the "sand" is the ordinary Old English word for the loose granular material that builds up in deserts and beaches. The combination describes the activity exactly, a board ridden down sand. The verb follows the same pattern. Once the noun existed, "to sandboard" meant doing the activity, so the verb is a direct conversion of the noun rather than a separate coinage with its own history. Nothing about the formation changes between the two uses.