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skateboard

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Etymology and origin of the English word skateboard

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1964 Life magazine
Ultimate origins
Old Norse skataProto-Germanic *bord
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English skate
English skateboard
From the same root
English skater ← skate

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈskeɪt.bɔːd/[1]
  • US: /ˈskeɪt.bɔɹd/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English skate + board,[2][3][4][5] on the model of surfboard.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A narrow board on roller-skate wheels, on which the rider coasts along standing up: 1964, in Life (5 June).[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The board was first developed from surfing.[2] Etymonline dates the craze to about 1963 in southern California, spreading across the United States the following summer.[6] The verb, to ride a skateboard or do tricks on one, is dated to 1964 by Merriam-Webster[4][6] and to 1968 by the OED, in a book on surfing in New Zealand.[2] Since 2002 skateboard has also been the flat base of an electric vehicle, holding its frame, battery, wheels and other mechanical parts.[2]

Timeline

  • 1964 – noun, a board on roller-skate wheels.[2][4][6]
  • 1968 – verb, to ride on a skateboard.[2] Merriam-Webster dates the verb to 1964.[4]
  • 2002 – the flat base holding the battery and running gear of an electric vehicle.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A short, narrow board on small wheels, ridden standing up and pushed along with one foot, used for coasting and for stunts.[4][3][2]
  2. The flat base of an electric vehicle, holding its battery, wheels and other mechanical parts.[2]

Verb

  1. To ride a skateboard, or do tricks on one: The boys skateboarded down to the harbour.[4][3][2]

Word family

  • skateboarder
  • skateboarding

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Skateboard.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/skateboard. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·