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," Popular Science, vol. 204, no. 6, p. 91 (retrieved 28 Oct 2015):

     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," New York Times (retrieved 28 Oct 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?," Time (retrieved 28 Oct 2015):

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

• episodic wave