kesel

n. [ Cf. AS. ceól ship; akin to D. & G. kiel keel, OHG. chiol ship, Icel. kjōll, and perh. to Gr. gay^los a round-built Phœnician merchant vessel, gaylo`s bucket; cf. Skr. gōla ball, round water vessel. But the meaning of the English word seems to come from Icel. kjölr keel, akin to Sw. köl, Dan. kjöl. ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: The whole ship. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Bot.) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See Carina. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved surface. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Aeronautics) In a dirigible, a construction similar in form and use to a ship's keel; in an aëroplane, 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. [ 1913 Webster ]