Keeling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The act of suddenly falling down or collapsing ; the process of leaning or tilting to one side, especially in a vessel
2. A sudden loss of balance resulting in a fall ; the movement of an object or person tipping over from an upright position
3. The action of dropping sharply to the ground ; a gradual incline or lean away from vertical alignment

Etymology: "Keeling" as a verb is the inflected form of "keel," the word for the timber running along the bottom of a ship. To keel over is to turn upside down or tip onto one side, as a boat does when its keel is pulled out of the water and it rolls onto its side. The verb sense of "keel" meaning to capsize or cause a ship to lie over on its side is the older root of the phrase, and "keeling" carries that same nautical image. The keel itself comes from Old English "ceol," meaning a ship, and the word was borrowed into the sense of the ship's backbone. Related forms appear in Icelandic "keila," Swedish "kolja," and Danish "kulle," which share the same sense of a long, curved or boat-shaped object.

Synonyms: tilting, leaning

Antonyms: upright, straight