KEELHAUL

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 21 September 2011

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

KEELHAUL  (v. -ED, -ING, -S)

Definition(s):

1. (v.) to drag a person under the bottom of a ship as a form of punishment
2. (v.) to rebuke severely

Useful information for game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: -ED, -ING
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: KEELHALE (v.)
• Related Forms: (none)

Epilogue:
Yes, KEELHAULING apparently was a real form of punishment occasionally used by seafarers of earlier eras.  The practice was mentioned as kielhalen in Dutch ordinances of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, entered English as KEELHALE or KEELHAUL in the seventeenth century, and was not formerly abolished by the Dutch navy until the mid-nineteenth century.  Because the keel of a ship was often covered with barnacles and other debris, the punishment would have resulted in severe injury or death in most instances, assuming the victim did not simply drown in the process.  The word gained the milder and more metaphorical sense of “to rebuke severely” much later.

This week’s theme: Words related to (the popular conception) of pirates and piracy

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =