Wakeboarding

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈweɪkbɔɹdɪŋ/

Definitions

1. This sport entails riding on a specially designed board while being towed across the water by a boat, blending aspects of surfing and snowboarding along with aerial tricks and stunts
2. A water sport involves gliding on a board while being pulled by a boat, combining elements of surfing and snowboarding and allowing for jumps and tricks in the air
3. This activity requires balance and skill as an individual rides atop a board, towed by a motorboat on water, where they can execute various stunts similar to those seen in surfing and snowboarding

Etymology: Wakeboarding grew out of a 1980s invention, and the word is a plain compound built from two older ones. The "wake" is the trail of disturbed water a boat leaves behind, a term that goes back to Middle English as "wake," probably borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German "wake," meaning a watch or a sleepless state, and later applied to the track a ship leaves on the water. "Board" is the ordinary Old English word for a flat plank. Put together, the compound names the activity of riding a board across a boat's wake. The sport itself took shape in Florida in the late 1980s, when riders began using short, wide boards in place of traditional water skis, borrowing tricks from surfing and snowboarding. The word followed the activity, and "wakeboard" was in use as the name of the equipment and sport by the early 1990s. The earlier term "skurfing," a blend of "skiing" and "surfing," was also used for the activity before the newer name took hold.

Synonyms: waterboarding