Keel word meaning and definition

[noun] one of the main longitudinal beams (or plates) of the hull of a vessel; can extend vertically into the water to provide lateral stability
[noun] the median ridge on the breastbone of birds that fly
[verb] walk as if unable to control one's movements

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

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