What is "false keel"

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 Tyne 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.

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. 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.

   1. A covered freight boat, with a keel, but no sails, used on Western rivers. [U. S.]

   2. 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.

False \False\, a. [Compar. Falser; superl. Falsest.] [L. falsus, p. p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus, fals, F. faux, and AS. fals fraud. See Fail, Fall.]

1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness.

2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.

   I to myself was false, ere thou to me.
   --Milton.

3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement.

4. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.

   False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
   --Shak.

5. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.

   Whose false foundation waves have swept away.
   --Spenser.

6. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.

7. (Mus.) Not in tune.

   False arch (Arch.), a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction.

   False attic, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms.

   False bearing, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing.

   False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence.

   False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus.

   False croup (Med.), a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane.

   False door or False window (Arch.), the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry.

   False fire, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction.

   False galena. See Blende.

   False imprisonment (Law), the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody.

   False keel (Naut.), the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance.

   False key, a picklock.

   False leg. (Zo["o]l.) See Proleg.

   False membrane (Med.), the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane.

   False papers (Naut.), documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, etc., for the purpose of deceiving.

   False passage (Surg.), an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments.

   False personation (Law), the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another.

   False pretenses (Law), false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another.

   False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it.

   False relation (Mus.), a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp.

   False return (Law), an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution.

   False ribs (Anat.), the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man.

   False roof (Arch.), the space between the upper ceiling and the roof.
   --Oxford Gloss.

   False token, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes.

   False scorpion (Zo["o]l.), any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See Book scorpion.

   False tack (Naut.), a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack.

   False vampire (Zo["o]l.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire.

   False window. (Arch.) See False door, above.

   False wing. (Zo["o]l.) See Alula, and Bastard wing, under Bastard.

   False works (Civil Engin.), construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.

n. (context nautical English) The timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the ship's lateral resistance.

The false keel was a timber, forming part of the hull of a wooden sailing ship. Typically 6 inches thick for a 74-gun ship in the 19th century, the false keel was constructed in several pieces, which were scarphed together, and attached to the underside of the keel by iron staples. The false keel was intended to protect the main keel from damage, and also protect the heads of the bolts holding the main keel together. The false keel could easily be replaced when it became damaged.