[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

keel \keel\, n. cf. as. ce'ol ship; akin to d.  g. kiel
   keel, ohg. chiol ship, icel. kj=oll, and perh. to gr.
   gay^los a round-built phoenician merchant vessel, gaylo`s
   bucket; cf. skr. g=ola ball, round water vessel. but the
   meaning of the english word seems to come from icel. kj"olr
   keel, akin to sw. k"ol, dan. kj"ol.
   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"eroplane, 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
see also:
keelson carina bilge keel false keel false keel boat 
keel keel piece on even keel on an even keel 

Keel >> K Words
Keel, definition of term: Keel
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Boat >> B Words
Boat, definition of term: Boat
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