I. ˈkēl, esp before pause or consonant -ēəl verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English kelen, from Old English cēlan, from cōl cool — more at cool
transitive verb
1. now dialect : cool ; specifically : to keep especially by stirring or skimming from boiling over
while greasy Joan doth keel the pot — Shakespeare
2. obsolete : to make less ardent or violent in feeling
intransitive verb
1. now dialect : cool IV
2. now dialect : to become less ardent or violent in feeling
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English kele, from Middle Dutch kiel; akin to Old English cēol ship, Old Saxon & Old High German kiol, Old Norse kjōll ship, Greek gaulos milk pail, kind of ship, Old English cot small house — more at cot
1.
a.
(1) : a flat-bottomed ship ; especially : a barge used on the Tyne to carry coal from Newcastle
(2) : a barge load of coal
b. : a British unit of weight for coal based on the amount one keel can hold now equal to 21.2 long tons
2. : a long ship of the early Norsemen
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English kele, keole, from Old Norse kil-, kjölr; akin to Middle Dutch & Middle Low German kiel, keel keel, Old English ceole throat, beak of a ship — more at glutton
1.
a.
(1) : a longitudinal timber or series of timbers scarfed together extending from stem to stern along the center of the bottom of a boat, often projecting below the bottom, and constituting the boat's principal timber to which the ribs are attached on each side — compare centerboard , false keel ; see ship illustration
(2) : a bar keel or plate keel on a metal ship
(3) : keelson
(4) : bilge keel
b.
(1) : boat , ship
(2) : a boat or ship having a keel as opposed to one having a centerboard or a flat bottom
the shipyard laid down ten new keels in a year
c. : the assembly of members at the bottom of the hull of a semirigid or rigid airship that provides special strength to resist hogging and sagging and serves to distribute the effect of concentrated loads along the hull
2. : a projection suggesting a keel : ridge: as
a. : a biological process forming a ridge : carina
b. : a keel molding or the ridge of one
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
transitive verb
1. : to cause to turn or tip to the side away from a vertical plane or over especially so that the bottom shows : overturn , capsize — usually used with over or up
sailing vessels lying keeled over at low tide in the harbors — Richard Joseph
2. : to cause to collapse or faint — usually used with over
the continued heat keeled over quite a few of the summer visitors
intransitive verb
1. : to turn or tip away from a vertical plane or over especially so that the bottom shows
sailing craft keel to the lee rail in a spanking breeze — American Guide Series: Connecticut
: overturn , capsize — usually used with over or up
the yacht swung across wind and keeled over
brakes squealing and slipping on the rails and engines keeling over into drifts — Helen Rich
2. : to fall in or as if in a faint : swoon — usually used with over
so tired he keeled over onto the bed
just one drink, and keeled right over — George Spanner
V. noun
or keel disease
( -s )
Etymology: keel (IV)
: acute septicemic salmonellosis or paratyphoid of ducklings marked by sudden collapse and death of apparently healthy birds
VI. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English (Scots dialect) keyle, probably from Scottish Gaelic cīl
1. now chiefly dialect : a red ocher used for marking something (as lumber or sheep) : ruddle ; also : a mark made with this material (as at the end of a warp of yarn to show whether the weaver has used the full length)
2. : a colored marking chalk or crayon used by engineers and surveyors
VII. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Scotland : to mark with keel