Keel

keel
    n 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
    v 1: walk as if unable to control one's movements; "The drunken
         man staggered into the room" [syn: {stagger}, {reel},
         {keel}, {lurch}, {swag}, {careen}]
    

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]
    

76 Moby Thesaurus words for "keel":
      argosy, ascend, bank, bark, base, baseboard, basement, be lost,
      boat, bottom, bucket, cant, capsize, careen, chassis, climb, craft,
      dado, decline, descend, dip, drop, fall, fall away, fall off, foot,
      footing, foundation, founder, frame, go down, go downhill,
      go uphill, grade, hooker, hulk, hull, incline, keel over, lean,
      leviathan, list, mopboard, nadir, overset, overturn, packet, pitch,
      pitchpole, rake, retreat, rise, scuttle, shelve, ship, shoemold,
      sidle, sink, slant, slope, sole, somersault, swag, sway, tilt, tip,
      toe, tub, turn over, turn turtle, uprise, upset, upset the boat,
      vessel, wainscot, watercraft