rogue wave

rogue wave (plural rogue waves)

1. (nautical, surfing) An unexpected, dangerously large wave.
   • 1974 June, Ben Kocivar, “75-knot ocean-going surface-effect ship”, in Popular Science, volume 204, number 6, retrieved 28 October 2015, page 91:

     Then one giant crest spills green water over the bow and stops our 100-ton vehicle as though it had ploughed into a gargantuan hay bale. . . . The rogue wave our experimental 78-foot craft hit must have been well over 10 feet high.

   • 1984 June 4, Robert D. McFadden, “18 Missing, 1 Dead and 9 Rescued as Tall Ship is Lost near Bermuda”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 October 2015:

     One of her owners, Mark Litchfield, was quoted by United Press International as saying a “rogue wave” might have knocked the ship over.

   • 2010 March 4, Bryan Walsh, “Cruise-Ship Disaster: How Do ‘Rogue Waves’ Work?”, in Time, retrieved 28 October 2015:

     Scientists still don't know exactly how rogue waves occur, nor do they know how to predict them.

• episodic wave