KEEL

keel, the bottom timber or combination of plates of a ship or boat, extending longitudinally from bow to stern, and supporting the framework (see ship-building). the origin of the word has been obscured by confusion of two words, the old norwegian _kjole_ (cf. swedish _kol_) and a dutch and german _kiel_. the first had the meaning of the english "keel," the other of ship, boat. the modern usage in dutch and german has approximated to the english. the word _kiel_ is represented in old english by _ceol_, a word applied to the long war galleys of the vikings, in which sense "keel" or "keele" is still used by archaeologists. on the tyne "keel" is the name given to a flat-bottomed vessel used to carry coals to the colliers. there is another word "keel," meaning to cool, familiar in shakespeare (_love's labour lost_, v. ii. 930), "while greasy joan doth keel the pot," i.e. prevents a pot from boiling over by pouring in cold water, &c., stirring or skimming. this is from the old english _celan_, to cool, a common teutonic word, cf. german _kuhlen_.