Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Dictionary: KEEL'ING – KELL
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KEEL'ING, n.
A kind of small cod, of which stock fish is made.
KEEL'ING, ppr.
Plowing with a keel; navigating.
KEEL'SON, n. [kel'son.]
A piece of timber in a ship, laid on the middle of the floor timbers over the keel, fastened with long bolts and clinched, and thus binding the floor timbers to the keel. Mar. Dict.
KEEN, a. [Sax. cene; G. kühn; D. koen; properly, bold, stout, eager, daring, from shooting forward. Class Gn.]
- Eager; vehement; as, hungry curs too keen at the sport. – Tatler. The sheep were so keen on the acorns. – L'Estrange.
- Eager; sharp; as, a keen appetite.
- Sharp; having a very fine edge; as, a keen razor, or a razor with a keen edge. We say, a keen edge, but a sharp point.
- Piercing; penetrating; severe; applied to cold or to wind; as, a keen wind; the cold is very keen.
- Bitter; piercing; acrimonious; as, keen satire or sarcasm. Good father cardinal, cry thou amen, / To my keen curses. – Shak.
KEEN, v.t.
To sharpen. [Unusual.] – Thomson.
KEEN-EY-ED, a.
Having acute sight. – Allen.
KEEN'LY, adv.
- Eagerly; vehemently.
- Sharply; severely; bitterly.
KEEN'NESS, n.
- Eagerness; vehemence; as, the keenness of hunger.
- Sharpness; fineness of edge; as, the keenness of a razor.
- The quality of piercing; rigor; sharpness; as, the keenness of the air or of cold.
- Asperity; acrimony; bitterness; as, the keenness of satire, invective or sarcasm.
- Acuteness; sharpness; as, the keenness of wit.
KEEN-WIT-TED, a.
Having acute wit or discernment. – Scott.
KEEP, n.
- Custody; guard. [Little used.] – Dryden.
- Colloquially, case; condition; as, in good keep. – English.
- Guardianship; restraint. [Little used.] – Ascham.
- A place of security; in old castles, the dungeon.
KEEP, v.i.
- To remain in any state; as, to keep at a distance; to keep aloft; to keep near; to keep in the house; to keep before or behind; to keep in favor; to keep out of company, or out of reach.
- To last; to endure; not to perish or be impaired. Seek for winter's use apples that will keep. If the malt is not thoroughly dried, the ale it makes will not keep. – Mortimer.
- To lodge; to dwell; to reside for a time. Knock at the study; where, they say, he keeps. – Shak. To keep to, to adhere strictly; not to neglect or deviate from; as, to keep to old customs; to keep to a rule; to keep to one's word or promise. To keep on, to go forward; to proceed; to continue to advance. – Dryden. To keep up, to remain unsubdued; or not to be confined to one's bed. In popular language, this word signifies to continue; to repeat continually; not to cease.
KEEP, v.t. [pret. and pp. kept. Sax. cepan, Syr. ܟܒܐ kaba, Eth. ዐቀበ akaba, to keep. Class Gb, No. 68, 85. The word coincides in elements with have, L. habeo, and capio, but I think the radical sense to be different.]
- To hold; to retain in one's power or possession; not to lose or part with; as, to keep a house or a farm; to keep any thing in the memory, mind or heart.
- To have in custody for security or preservation. The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. – Knolles.
- To preserve; to retain. The Lord God, merciful and gracious, keeping mercy for thousands. – Ex. xxxiv.
- To preserve from falling or from danger; to protect; to guard or sustain. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. – Gen. xxviii. Luke iv.
- To hold or restrain from departure; to detain. That I may know what keeps me here with you. – Dryden.
- To tend; to have the care of. And the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. – Gen. ii.
- To tend; to feed; to pasture; as, to keep a flock of sheep or a herd of cattle in a yard or in a field. He keeps his horses on oats or on hay.
- To preserve in any tenor or state. Keep a stiff rein. Keep the constitution sound. – Addison.
- To regard; to attend to. While the stars and course of heaven I keep. – Dryden.
- To hold in any state; as, to keep in order.
- To continue any state, course or action; as, to keep silence; to keep the same road or the same pace; to keep reading or talking; to keep a given distance.
- To practice; to do or perform; to obey; to observe in practice; not to neglect or violate; as, to keep the laws, statutes or commandments of God. – Scripture.
- To fulfill; to perform; as, to keep one's word, promise or covenant.
- To practice; to use habitually; as, to keep bad hours. – Pope.
- To copy carefully. Her servant's eyes were fix'd upon her face, / And as she moved or turned, her motions viewed, / Her measures kept, and step by step pursued. – Dryden.
- To observe or solemnize. Ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord. – Ex. xii.
- To board; to maintain; to supply with necessaries of life. The men are kept at a moderate price per week.
- To have in the house; to entertain; as, to keep lodgers.
- To maintain; not to intermit; as, to keep watch or guard.
- To hold in one's own bosom; to confine to one's own knowledge; not to disclose or communicate to others; not to betray; as, to keep a secret; to keep one's own counsel.
- To have in pay; as, to keep a servant. To keep back, to reserve; to withhold; not to disclose or communicate. I will keep nothing back from you. – Jer. xlii. #2. To restrain; to prevent from advancing. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. – Ps. xix. #3. To reserve; to withhold; not to deliver. – Acts v. To keep company with, to frequent the society of; to associate with. Let youth keep company with the wise and good. #2. To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with one on a journey or voyage. To keep down, to prevent from rising; not to lift or suffer to be raised. To keep in, to prevent from escape; to hold in confinement. #2. To conceal; not to tell or disclose. #3. To restrain; to curb. – Locke. To keep off, to hinder from approach or attack; as, to keep off an enemy or an evil. To keep under, to restrain; to hold in subjection; as, to keep under an antagonist or a conquered country; to keep under the appetites and passions. To keep up, to maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution; as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's credit. #2. To maintain; to continue; to hinder from ceasing. In joy, that which keeps up the action is the desire to continue it. – Locke. To keep out, to hinder from entering or taking possession. To keep bed, to remain in bed without rising; to be confined to one's bed. To keep house, to maintain a family state. His income enables him to keep house. #2. To remain in the house; to be confined. His feeble health obliges him to keep house. To keep from, to restrain; to prevent approach. To keep a school, to maintain or support it; as, the town or its inhabitants keep ten schools; more properly, to govern and instruct or teach a school, as a preceptor. To keep a term, in universities, is to reside during a term.
KEEP'ER, n.
- One who keeps; one that holds or has possession of any thing.
- One who retains in custody; one who has the care of a prison and the custody of prisoners.
- One who has the care of a park or other inclosure, or the custody of beasts; as, the keeper of a park, a pound, or of sheep.
- One who has the care, custody or superintendence of any thing. In Great Britain, the keeper of the great seal, is a lord by his office, and one of the privy council. All royal grants, commissions and charters pass through his hands. He is constituted lord-keeper by the delivery of the great seal. The keeper of the privy seal is also a lord by his office, and a member of the privy council.
KEEP'ER-SHIP, n.
The office of a keeper. [Little used.] – Carew.
KEEP'ING, n.
- A holding; restraint; custody; guard; preservation.
- Feed; fodder. The cattle have good keeping.
- In painting, a representation of objects in the manner they appear to the eye at different distances from it.
- In popular use, conformity; congruity; consistency; as, these subjects are in keeping with each other. – Reed.
KEEP'ING, ppr.
Holding; restraining; preserving; guarding; protecting; performing.
KEEP'ING-ROOM, n.
A parlor. – New England.
KEEP'SAKE, n.
Any thing kept or given to be kept for the sake of the giver; a token of friendship.
KEEVE, n. [Fr. cuve.]
A large vessel for fermenting liquors; a beer tub; a mashing tub. [Local.]
KEEVE, v.t.
- To set in a keeve for fermentation.
- To tip up a cart. – Ray.
KEF'FE-KIL, n.
A stone, white or yellow, which hardens in the fire, and of which Turkey pipes are made. – Nicholson.
KEG, n. [Fr. caque.]
A small cask or barrel; written more correctly Cag.
KELK, n.
A blow; large stones. [Local. Qu. L. calculus.]
KELK, v.t.
To beat soundly. [Local.]
KELL, n.1
A sort of pottage. [Not used in America.] – Ainsworth.