Keel
/kiːl/noun
The main structural beam running along the bottom of a ship; also, to tip or fall over.
Did you know?The ship sense of *keel* is ancient, but the verb *to keel over* is much newer and comes from the image of a ship tipping onto its side, not from any occult ritual.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*kel-
“to cover, conceal; to drive, set in motion (reconstructed root with multiple branches)”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kēlą
“keel, the bottom timber of a ship”
Old English
OE
cēol
“a ship, vessel”
Old Norse
ON
kjóll
“a ship, large vessel”
Middle English
English
kele / keele
“the keel of a ship”
Modern English
English
keel
“the principal timber or structural ridge along the bottom of a ship”