From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
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}.
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2. Fig.: The whole ship.
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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.]
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4. (Bot.) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a
papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens
and pistil; a carina. See {Carina}.
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5. (Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat
or curved surface.
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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.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
bilge keel
n 1: either of two lengthwise fins attached along the outside of
a ship's bilge; reduces rolling
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