keel

Noun · Verb
Synonyms: staggerreellurchswagcareen

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  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

Verb (1)

  1. walk as if unable to control one's movements“The drunken man staggered into the room”Synonyms: staggerreellurchswagcareen
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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.] [1913 Webster]

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Keel \Keel\, n. A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat. [1913 Webster]
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. [1913 Webster]

2.Fig.: The whole ship. [1913 Webster]

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.] [1913 Webster]

4.(Bot.) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See Carina. [1913 Webster]

5.(Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved surface. [1913 Webster]

6.(Aeronautics) 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. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

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.

On an even keel a. & adv., steady; balanced; steadily. [1913 Webster]

Keel \Keel\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Keeled; p. pr. & vb. n. Keeling.]

1.To traverse with a keel; to navigate. [1913 Webster]

2.To turn up the keel; to show the bottom. [1913 Webster]

To keel over, to upset; to capsize. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster]

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