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.]
4. (Bot.) The two lowest petals of the corolla of a papilionaceous
flower, united and inclosing the stamens and pistil; a carina. See
Carina.
5. (Nat. Hist.) A projecting ridge along the middle of a flat or curved
surface.
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.
Keel, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Keeled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Keeling.] 1. To
traverse with a keel; to navigate.