Keel
Keel (kēl) , verb, transitive and intransitive
[Anglo-Saxon cēlan to cool, from cōl cool. See Cool.]
To cool; to skim or stir. [Obsolete]
While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.
Keel , noun
A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.
Keel , noun
[Compare Anglo-Saxon ceól ship; akin to Dutch & German kiel keel, Old High German chiol ship, Icelandic kjōll, and perh. to Greek gay^los a round-built Phonician merchant vessel, gaylo`s bucket; compare Sanskrit gōla ball, round water vessel. But the meaning of the English word seems to come from Icelandic kjolr keel, akin to Swedish kol, Danish kjol.]
1.
(Shipbuilding) A longitudinal timber, or series of timbers scarfed together, extending from stem to stern along the bottom of a vessel. It is the principal timber of the vessel, and, by means of the ribs attached on each side, supports the vessel's frame. In an iron vessel, a combination of plates supplies the place of the keel of a wooden ship. See Illust. of Keelson.
2.
Figuratively: The whole ship.
3.
A barge or lighter, used on the Tyne for carrying coal from Newcastle; also, a barge load of coal, twenty-one tons, four cwt. [English]
4.
(Botany) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See Carina.
5.
(Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved surface.
6.
(Aeronautics) In a dirigible, a construction similar in form and use to a ship's keel; in an aeroplane, a fin or fixed surface employed to increase stability and to hold the machine to its course.
Collocations (6)
Bilge keel (Nautical) , a keel peculiar to ironclad vessels, extending only a portion of the length of the vessel under the bilges. — Ham. Nav. Encyc
False keel , See under False.
Keel boat , (a) A covered freight boat, with a keel, but no sails, used on Western rivers. [United States] (b) A low, flat-bottomed freight boat. See Keel, n., 3.
Keel piece , one of the timbers or sections of which a keel is composed.
On even keel , in a level or horizontal position, so that the draught of water at the stern and the bow is the same. — Ham. Nav. Encyc
On an even keel , steady; balanced; steadily.
Keel , intransitive verb
1.
To traverse with a keel; to navigate.
2.
To turn up the keel; to show the bottom.
Collocations (1)
To keel over , to upset; to capsize. [Colloquial]