Etymograph

English

keelson

Keelson comes from Old Norse kjǫlr ‘keel’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *keluz.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*keluz‘keel’reconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350kjǫlr‘keel’
  3. Low Germanmodernkielswîn
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kelswayn
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1884keelson

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*keluz‘keel’reconstructedearlier origin unknown
  2. Old Norsec. 800–1350kjǫlr‘keel’
  3. Low Germanmodernkielswîn
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kelswayn
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1884keelson

Earliest quotation: 1884, Dixon Kemp, A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing (Fourth Edition): “With regard to materials, all the frames should be…”

The story

Late Middle English kelswayn, from Low German kielswîn, kielswīn, from kiel (‘keel of a ship’) (from Old Norse kjǫlr) + swin (‘swine’), used as the name of a timber (however, compare sill).

Every English word from Proto-Germanic *keluz

Today it means

noun A longitudinal beam fastened on top of the keel of a vessel for strength and stiffness.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *keluz / keelson

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