1964, noun and verb, from skate (v.) on model of surfboard. The phenomenon began c. 1963 in southern California and was nationwide the following summer.
Skateboarding requires only a tapered piece of wood flexibly mounted on roller-skate wheels and a stretch of pavement -- preferably downhill and away from traffic. ["Life," June 5, 1964]
"The sport of riding on a short, wide board resembling a surfboard and performing acrobatic manoeuvres while being towed behind a motor boat", 1990s: from wake2, on the pattern of surfboarding.
