Dictionary.com
definitions

keel

1
[keel]
||

noun

verb (used with or without object)

to turn or upset so as to bring the wrong side or part uppermost.

Verb Phrases

keel over,
  1. to capsize or overturn.
  2. to fall as in a faint: Several cadets keeled over from the heat during the parade.

RELATED WORDS

plunge, topple, collapse, founder, tumble, upset, drop, slump, swoon, pitch, capsize, faint, overturn

Idioms

    on an even keel, in a state of balance; steady; steadily: The affairs of state are seldom on an even keel for long.

Origin of keel

1
1325–75; 1895–1900 for def 8; Middle English kele < Old Norse kjǫlr; cognate with Old English cēol keel, ship; see keel2
Related formskeeled, adjective

keel

3
[keel]

verb (used with object) British Dialect.

to cool, especially by stirring.

Origin of keel

3
before 900; Middle English kelen, Old English cēlan to be cool; akin to cool
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for keeled

Contemporary Examples of keeled

Historical Examples of keeled

  • Like the Keeled Lizard it has the ability to shed a very lively, wriggling tail.

    Pathfinder

    Alan Douglas

  • The man threw out his hands and keeled over like a stuck pig.

    The Highgrader

    William MacLeod Raine

  • I remember one old fellow that we put eleven into, before he keeled over.

    Beautiful Joe

    Marshall Saunders

  • They danced and cavorted, they yelled and keeled over, and laughed.

    The Prairie Schooner

    William Francis Hooker

  • I am lose my pension; and now I shall be keeled by zese war parties!

    The War-Trail Fort

    James Willard Schultz

British Dictionary definitions for keeled

keel

1

noun

one of the main longitudinal structural members of a vessel to which the frames are fastened and that may extend into the water to provide lateral stability
on an even keel well-balanced; steady
any structure corresponding to or resembling the keel of a ship, such as the central member along the bottom of an aircraft fuselage
biology a ridgelike part; carina
a poetic word for ship

verb

to capsize
See also keel over
Derived Formskeel-less, adjective

Word Origin for keel

C14: from Old Norse kjölr; related to Middle Dutch kiel, keel ²

keel

2

noun Eastern British dialect

a flat-bottomed vessel, esp one used for carrying coal
a measure of coal equal to about 21 tons

Word Origin for keel

C14 kele, from Middle Dutch kiel; compare Old English cēol ship

keel

3

noun

red ochre stain used for marking sheep, timber, etc

verb (tr)

to mark with this stain

Word Origin for keel

Old English cēlan, from cōl cool

keel

4

verb

an archaic word for cool

Word Origin for keel

C15: probably from Scottish Gaelic cīl

keel

5

noun

a fatal disease of young ducks, characterized by intestinal bleeding caused by Salmonella bacteria

Word Origin for keel

C19: from keel 1; see keel over
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for keeled

keel

n.

"lowest timber of a ship or boat," mid-14c., probably from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse kjölr "keel," Danish kjøl, Swedish köl, from Proto-Germanic *keluz, of uncertain origin. Some etymologists say this is unconnected with the keel that means "a ship, barge," which also is the root of Middle Dutch kiel "ship," Old English ceol "ship's prow," Old High German kiel, German Kiel "ship," but the two words have influenced each other. Barnhart, however, calls them cognates. This other word is said to be from Proto-Germanic *keula, from PIE *geul- "rounded vessel." Keel still is used locally in England and U.S. for "flat-bottomed boat," especially on the Tyne.

keel

v.1

1838, American English, from keel (n.). To keel over (1876) is from the nautical image of a ship turning keel-up. Related: Keeled; keeling.

keel

v.2

"to keep cool," from Middle English kelen, from Old English celan "to cool," from col "cool" (see cool). The form kele (from Old English colian) was used by Shakespeare, but it later was assimilated with the adjective form into the modern verb cool. Cognate with Dutch koelen, Old High German chuolen, German kühlen.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with keeled

keel

In addition to the idiom beginning with keel

  • keel over

also see:

  • on an even keel
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.