Jet Ski

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European Personal Watercraft Championship in Crikvenica

Jet Ski is technically the brand name of a personal watercraft manufactured by Kawasaki,[1] however it is commonly used in English to refer to a small water craft of this style of any type, and it is also used as verb to describe the use of this type of water vehicle.[2][3] Jet skis typically can carry 1-2 people seated in a configuration more like a typical bike or motorcycle.[4]

It was the "first commercially successful" personal watercraft in America, having been released in 1972 (after reaching a license agreement with the inventor of the Jet Ski, Clayton Jacobson II when his license agreement with Bombardier expired).[1] The term is sometimes used generically to refer to any type of personal watercraft.

Common noun[edit]

Though the proper noun "Jet Ski" is a registered trademark of Kawasaki, the common noun "jet ski" refers to small recreational watercraft.[5] The Oxford English Dictionary records the term in use in 1961 to describe the aquatic motorbike, and in 1948 to designate a jet-propelled aircraft equipped with skis.[6]


U.S. astronaut Alan G. Poindexter died in 2012 due to an accident with a jet ski in Florida.[7]


  2. ^ [
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ "Jet Ski". Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-05-04. 
  6. ^ "jet ski". Oxford English Dictionary (non-public access, login required). Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-04. 
  7. ^ [3]

External links[edit]