The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
(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.
Fig.: The whole ship.
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.]
(Bot.) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See Carina.
(Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved surface.
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(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.
A covered freight boat, with a keel, but no sails, used on Western rivers. [U. S.]
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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.
Even \E"ven\, a. [AS. efen. efn; akin to OS. eban, D. even, OHG. eban, G. efen, Icel. jafn, Dan. jevn, Sw. j["a]mn, Goth. ibns. Cf. Anent, Ebb.]
Level, smooth, or equal in surface; not rough; free from irregularities; hence uniform in rate of motion of action; as, even ground; an even speed; an even course of conduct.
Equable; not easily ruffled or disturbed; calm; uniformly self-possessed; as, an even temper.
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Parallel; on a level; reaching the same limit.
And shall lay thee even with the ground.
--Luke xix. 4 -
4. Balanced; adjusted; fair; equitable; impartial; just to both sides; owing nothing on either side; -- said of accounts, bargains, or persons indebted; as, our accounts are even; an even bargain.
To make the even truth in pleasure flow.
--Shak. Without an irregularity, flaw, or blemish; pure. ``I know my life so even.''
--Shak.Associate; fellow; of the same condition. [Obs.] ``His even servant.''
--Wyclif (Matt. xviii. 29).-
Not odd; capable of division by two without a remainder; -- said of numbers; as, 4 and 10 are even numbers.
Whether the number of the stars is even or odd.
--Jer. Taylor.On even ground, with equal advantage.
On even keel (Naut.), in a level or horizontal position.
Usage examples of "on even keel".
Then abruptly, the floor levelled as Buckley brought the craft back on even keel, the door flew open and Scarlatti staggered and fell.
Turner had hardly finished speaking when a U-boat, the first the Ulysses had seen above water for almost six months-porpoised high above the surface of the sea, hung there for two or three seconds, then crashed down on even keel, wallowing wickedly in the troughs between the waves.
Except when on even keel the over-stressed metal, shaking and shuddering, creaked and groaned its protesting torture and, when it fell into the depths of a trough, the entire structure shifted quite perceptibly.
She heeled slightly to the broadside of her long black cannons, then came back on even keel, but her hull was blotted out by the billowing smoke cloud.
He slid to the floor groggily as the pilot wrestled the helicopter back on even keel.
For a moment, he thought his controls had gone, but the next instant the machine was on even keel again, diving steeply under the gas-bag towards the destroyer.
But unfortunately Gussie had paused to sway, too, and this gave him time to steady himself on even keel and regroup his forces.