keel

Meaning

1. A large beam along the underside of a ship’s hull from bow to stern.
2. A rigid, flat piece of material anchored to the lowest part of the hull of a ship to give it greater control and stability.
3. 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.
4. The rigid bottom part of something else, especially an iceberg.
5. A type of flat-bottomed boat.
6. The periphery of a whorl extended to form a more or less flattened plate; a prominent spiral ridge.
7. The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and enclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina.
8. To collapse, to fall.
9. To traverse with a keel; to navigate.
10. To turn up the keel; to show the bottom.
11. To cool; make cool; to cool by stirring or skimming in order to keep from boiling over.
12. To moderate the ardour or intensity of; assuage; to appease, pacify, or lessen.
13. To become cool; cool down.
14. A broad, flat vessel used for cooling liquids; a brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.
15. Red chalk; ruddle.
16. To mark with ruddle.
17. Pronunciation spelling of kill.

Etymology / origin

From Middle English kele, from Old Norse kjǫlr, itself from Proto-Germanic *keluz, of uncertain origin. Displaced Old English ċēol from a related root. Distantly related to kile.

Related words

Descendant words

• køl(Danish) (cog)
• Kiel(German) (cog)
• キール(Japanese) (bor)
• quilha(Portuguese) (cog)
• cìl(Scottish Gaelic) (bor)
• cêl(Welsh) (bor)

Sources

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