Careen
/kəˈriːn/noun
To tilt or lean over, especially a ship for cleaning or repair, or to move wildly and unsteadily.
Did you know?In its oldest nautical sense, to careen a ship was to haul it onto its side so the hull could be scraped and repaired, a practical act that later gave the word its dramatic sense of swaying or lurching.
Etymological Timeline
Late 16th Century
French
cariner
“To careen a ship by heeling it over for cleaning or repair.”
Late 16th Century
French
carène
“The keel or underwater hull of a ship.”
Latin
Latin
carina
“A keel, the bottom-structure of a ship.”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kar-
“To cut; a root often associated with hard, sharp, or cutting objects.”
Modern English
English
careen
“To tilt or lean over, or to move quickly and unsteadily.”