English
keelhaul
Keelhaul comes from Dutch kielhalen.
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkielhalen
- Englishearliest quotation 1838keelhaul
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Dutchc. 1500–presentkielhalen
- Englishearliest quotation 1838keelhaul
Earliest quotation: 1838, Donald Moodie, Cape of Good Hope.—1662–1672.”: “March 11 [1667].—Hermans Jans, boatswain; disobedience of orders and…”
A compound of kiel ‘keel’ + halen ‘fetch’
Proto-Germanic *keluz ‘keel’
Old Norse kjǫlr ‘keel’
Middle Low German kēl
Middle Dutch kiel
Dutch kiel ‘keel’
Proto-Germanic *halōną
Proto-West Germanic *halōn ‘to call, summon’
Old Dutch *halon
Middle Dutch halen
Dutch halen ‘fetch’
Every English word from Dutch kielhalen
Today it means
verb To punish by dragging under the keel of a ship with the intent of causing painful injuries.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Dutch kielhalen / keelhaul