Keel /(kēl)/

Keel

v. t. & i.
  1. To cool; to skim or stir. [Obs.]
    While greasy Joan doth keel the pot.

Keel

n.
  1. A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.

Keel

n.
  1. 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. (Shipbuilding)
  2. Fig.: 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. [Eng.]
  4. The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See Carina. (Bot.)
  5. A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved surface. (Nat. Hist.)
  6. In a dirigible, a construction similar in form and use to a ship's keel; in an aëroplane, a fin or fixed surface employed to increase stability and to hold the machine to its course. (Aeronautics)

Phrases & Compounds
Bilge keel
a keel peculiar to ironclad vessels, extending only a portion of the length of the vessel under the bilges.
False keel
See under False.
Keel boat
A covered freight boat, with a keel, but no sails, used on Western rivers.
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.
On an even keel
steady; balanced; steadily.

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.

Phrases & Compounds
To keel over
to upset; to capsize.