keel

keel

¹

1. 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

2. any structure corresponding to or resembling the keel of a ship, such as the central member along the bottom of an aircraft fuselage

3. Biology a ridgelike part; carina

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keel

² Eastern English dialect

1. a flat-bottomed vessel, esp one used for carrying coal

2. a measure of coal equal to about 21 tons

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keel

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

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Keel

 

(1) Keel of a vessel—a longitudinal, usually composite, beam running in the middle of the vessel bottom from the bow to the stern. The keel serves as a basic longitudinal link providing strength and rigidity to the bottom and overall stability to the vessel’s hull.

Wooden vessels have a keel in the form of a bar; this form was also retained on old metal-hull vessels (bar keel). On modern double-bottomed steel vessels the keel consists of a thick reinforced plate on the bottom and one or two (duct keel) vertical plates located between the double bottom. Bilge keels (side keels) in the form of long rigid plates are installed along what is called the turn of the bilge on the outside of the hull in order to lessen the rolling of the vessel.

(2) Keel of an airship—fin or vertical stabilizer—part of the tail unit of an aircraft located in a vertical (or inclined) plane and designed to provide directional stability. A flight rudder is attached by hinges to the trailing edge of the fin.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

keel

[kēl]

(naval architecture)

A steel beam or timber, or a series of steel beams and plates or timbers joined together, extending along the center of the bottom of a ship from stem to stern and often projecting below the bottom, to which the frames and hull plating are attached.

(vertebrate zoology)

The median ridge on the breastbone in certain birds. Also known as carina.

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Keel

[kēl]

(astronomy)

Carina

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

keel

An appendage of a molding, usually a fillet, on the furthest projection of a molding.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.