Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who works on a barge or keel. Also keelman.
  • noun A small shallow tub used for some domestic purposes, as dish-washing, also to hold stuff for calking ships, etc.
  • noun A square or oblong wooden box, from 3 to 4 feet long and 6 to 8 inches deep, used in dressing mackerel, and also to hold the salt used in the process. More fully called gib-keeler.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One employed in managing a Newcastle keel; -- called also keelman.
  • noun A small or shallow tub; esp., one used for holding materials for calking ships, or one used for washing dishes, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun historical One employed in managing a Newcastle keel, or coal boat.
  • noun A small or shallow tub.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

keel +‎ -er

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Examples

Comments

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  • "Keelers, are small tubs, which hold stuff for the calking of ships."

    Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine (1816), 210

    October 14, 2008