Keel KEEL, n.
1. The principal timber in a ship, extending from stem to stern at the bottom, and supporting the whole frame.
2. A low flat-bottomed vessel, used in the river Tyne, to convey coals from Newcastle for loading the colliers.
3. In botany, the lower petal of a papilionaceous corol, inclosing the stamens and pistil.
False keel, a strong thick piece of timber, bolted to the bottom of the keel, to preserve it from injury.
On an even keel, in a level or horizontal position.
KEEL, v.t. To cool.
KEEL, v.t. To plow with a keel; to navigate.
1. To turn up the keel; to show the bottom.
To keel the pot, in Ireland, to scum it.

keel n 1: a projection or ridge that suggests a keel 2: the median ridge on the breastbone of birds that fly 3: one of the main longitudinal beams (or plates) of the hull of a vessel; can extend vertically into the water to provide lateral stability v 1: walk as if unable to control one's movements; "The drunken man staggered into the room" [syn: stagger, reel, keel, lurch, swag, careen]

keel leek klee elke kele

keel ̈ɪki:l See: ON AN EVEN KEEL.

keel I. verb Etymology: Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan, from cōl cool Date: before 12th century chiefly dialect cool II. noun Etymology: Middle English kele, from Middle Dutch kiel; akin to Old English cēol ship Date: 14th century a flat-bottomed barge used especially on the Tyne to carry coal III. noun Etymology: Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr; akin to Old English ceole throat, beak of a ship — more at glutton Date: 14th century 1. a. the chief structural member of a boat or ship that extends longitudinally along the center of its bottom and that often projects from the bottom; also this projection b. ship 2. a projection suggesting a keel; especially carina 1 • keeled adjective • keelless adjective IV. intransitive verb Date: 1832 1. to fall in or as if in a faint — usually used with over 2. to heel or lean precariously V. noun Etymology: Middle English (Scots) keyle Date: 15th century chiefly dialect red ocher

keel
1.
n. & v.
--n.
1 the lengthwise timber or steel structure along the base of a ship, airship, or some aircraft, on which the framework of the whole is built up.
2 poet. a ship.
3 a ridge along the breastbone of many birds; a carina.
4 Bot. a prow-shaped pair of petals in a corolla etc.
--v.
1 (often foll. by over) a intr. turn over or fall down. b tr. cause to do this.
2 tr. & intr. turn keel upwards.
Derivatives:
keelless adj.
Etymology: ME kele f. ON kjölr f. Gmc
2.
n. Brit. hist.
1 a flat-bottomed vessel, esp. of the kind formerly used on the River Tyne etc. for loading coal-ships.
2 an amount carried by such a vessel.
Etymology: ME kele f. MLG kel, MDu. kiel ship, boat, f. Gmc

keel (keels, keeling, keeled) 1. The keel of a boat is the long, specially shaped piece of wood or steel along the bottom of it. N-COUNT 2. If you say that someone or something is on an even keel, you mean that they are working or progressing smoothly and steadily, without any sudden changes. Jason had helped him out with a series of loans, until he could get back on an even keel. PHRASE: PHR after v, v-link PHR

Keel \Keel\ (k[=e]l), v. t. & i. [AS. c[=e]lan to cool, fr. c[=o]l cool. See Cool.] To cool; to skim or stir. [Obs.] While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. --Shak.

Keel \Keel\, n. A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.

Keel \Keel\, n. [Cf. AS. ce['o]l ship; akin to D. & G. kiel keel, OHG. chiol ship, Icel. kj[=o]ll, and perh. to Gr. gay^los a round-built Ph[oe]nician merchant vessel, gaylo`s bucket; cf. Skr. g[=o]la ball, round water vessel. But the meaning of the English word seems to come from Icel. kj["o]lr keel, akin to Sw. k["o]l, Dan. kj["o]l.] 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. Fig.: The whole ship. 3. A barge or lighter, used on the Type for carrying coal from Newcastle; also, a barge load of coal, twenty-one tons, four cwt. [Eng.] 4. (Bot.) 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. Bilge keel (Naut.), 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. [U. S.] (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.

Keel \Keel\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Keeled; p. pr. & vb. n. Keeling.] 1. To traverse with a keel; to navigate. 2. To turn up the keel; to show the bottom. To keel over, to upset; to capsize. [Colloq.]

Keel \Keel\, n. (A["e]ronautics) In a dirigible, a construction similar in form and use to a ship's keel; in an a["e]roplane, a fin or fixed surface employed to increase stability and to hold the machine to its course.

76 Moby Thesaurus words for "keel": argosy, ascend, bank, bark, base, baseboard, basement, be lost, boat, bottom, bucket, cant, capsize, careen, chassis, climb, craft, dado, decline, descend, dip, drop, fall, fall away, fall off, foot, footing, foundation, founder, frame, go down, go downhill, go uphill, grade, hooker, hulk, hull, incline, keel over, lean, leviathan, list, mopboard, nadir, overset, overturn, packet, pitch, pitchpole, rake, retreat, rise, scuttle, shelve, ship, shoemold, sidle, sink, slant, slope, sole, somersault, swag, sway, tilt, tip, toe, tub, turn over, turn turtle, uprise, upset, upset the boat, vessel, wainscot, watercraft

look up a word or phrase