KEE'LHAUL, verb transitive To haul under the keel of a ship. Keelhauling is a punishment inflicted in the Dutch navy for certain offenses. The offender is suspended by a rope from one yard arm, with weights on his legs, and a rope fastened to him, leading under the ship's bottom to the opposite yard arm, and being let fall into the water, he is drawn under the ship's bottom and raised on the other side.
Content
Rights and sources
Review source, license and attribution information for this content.
Content
Webster's Dictionary 1828
American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828.