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.]

While greasy Joan doth keel the pot. --Shak.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Keel \Keel\, n. A brewer's cooling vat; a keelfat.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

2. Fig.: The whole ship.

3. A barge or lighter, used on the Type for carrying coal from Newcastle; also, a barge load of coal, twenty-one tons, four cwt. [Eng.]

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

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

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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

1. To traverse with a keel; to navigate.

2. To turn up the keel; to show the bottom.

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

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Keel \Keel\, n. (A["e]ronautics) 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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)