A raised edge or rim around an opening on a ship's deck, designed to prevent water from flowing into the cabin or hold.
Origin uncertain, possibly from Middle Low German 'kaminge' or Dutch. First recorded in nautical contexts in the 16th century. The word may be related to 'comb' in the sense of an edge or ridge structure.
Ship designers created coamings by trial and error—too low and the ship floods, too high and they're impossible to step over in rough seas. Every coaming you see on a sailing ship is the result of centuries of maritime disaster and survival.
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