m., kjalar, dat. kili, mod. kjöl, plur. kilir, acc. kjölu; [Engl. keel, which seems to be of Norse origin, as the A. S. uses quite a different word for carina; Dan. kjöl; Swed. köl]:—a keel; klökkr k., Lex. Poët.; langir, svalir kilir, id.; rísta kaldan sjá kili, Edda (Ht. 101); brotnaði kjölrinn undir skipinu, Fs. 152; laust skipit svá at þegar horfði upp kjölrinn, Ld. 142; höggva skip í sundr ok auka at kili, Fms. viii. 372; koma e-m or komask á kjöl, to get on the keel when a boat is capsized, ix. 320; þeir létu fallask í kjölinn niðr, vii. 288; ok er niðr hlaupinn drykkr allr í kjöl á skipinu, xi. 233; land Ránar, kjalar, stála …, Edda 66; þeir segjask eigi fá tré svá stórt né gott at heyri til kjalarins, Fb. i. 433; ok hvelfir svá skipinu, at hón ríðr um þveran kjölinn, ii. 26; rifnaði skipit neðan, ok var skjótt undan kjölrinn, Bs, i. 842: phrases, sigla lausum kili, to sail with a loose keel, with an empty ship, Ó. H. 115: in poetry, kjalar-slóð, kjalar stigr, keel-track, keel-path = the sea; kjalar-land, id., Lex. Poët.

II. metaph. a keel-shaped range of mountains; há fjöll liggja eptir endilangri mörkinni ok eru þat kallaðir Kilir, Eg. 58: esp. as a local name of the mountain Kiölen between Sweden and Norway, Eb. 2, 4, Hkr. i. 137, passim; as also in Iceland, Landn., Sturl.

2. the back of a book; biskup lét búa ok líma öll blöðin í kjölinn, Ísl. ii. 460; bók gyllt á kjöl, a gilt book, freq. in mod. usage: as also the inner margin of a book when open, whence the phrase, lesa ofan í kjölinn, to read closely; hann hefir ekki lesit ofan í kjölinn, of superficial, loose reading.

COMPDS: kjalarhæll, kjalarleið, kjalartré.