treenail Hear it!

treenail definition

tree·nail (trē′nāl′; also tren′əl, trun′-)

noun

a very dry wooden peg used to join timbers, esp. in building wooden ships: it swells from moisture and ensures a tight joint

Etymology: ME trenayle < tre, tree (in early sense “wood”) + nayle, nail

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.