careen

careen
\ \ [16] Careen comes ultimately from carīna, the Latin word for a ‘nutshell’, which is related to Greek káruonnut’ and Sanskrit kárakascoconut’. The idea of a ‘nut’ as a metaphor for a ‘boat’ is a fairly obvious one (shell is similarly used for a ‘rowing boat’), and the Latin word came to be used for a ‘ship’s keel’, the raised seam of a walnut perhaps suggesting the line of the timber along the ship’s bottom. It passed via the Genoese dialect carena into French, where a vessel en carène was turned over on its side so that its keel was exposed; hence the verb. The equation of careen with careergo wildly’ is 20th-century and of American origin.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • careen — 1590s, to turn a ship on its side (with the keel exposed), from Fr. cariner, from M.Fr. carene keel (16c.), from It. (Genoese dialect) carena, from L. carina keel of a ship, originally nutshell. Generalized sense of to lean, to tilt is 1883.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • careen — is originally a nautical word (recorded by the geographer Hakluyt in 1600) referring to the tilting or turning over of a ship, either at sea or in dock for repairs. In AmE careen has developed the meaning ‘hurtle or rush headlong’: • A lot of… …   Modern English usage

  • careen — [kə rēn′] vt. [Fr carener, careen < OFr carène, carine < OIt carena < L carina, keel of a ship, orig., nutshell: see HARD] 1. to cause (a ship) to lean or lie on one side, as on a beach, for cleaning, repairs, etc. 2. to caulk, clean, or …   English World dictionary

  • Careen — Ca*reen , v. i. To incline to one side, or lie over, as a ship when sailing on a wind; to be off the keel. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Careen — Ca*reen , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Careened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Careening}.] [OF. cariner, F. car[ e]ner, fr. OF. car[ e]ne, the bottom of a ship, keel, fr. L. carina.] (Naut.) To cause (a vessel) to lean over so that she floats on one side, leaving… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Careen — f English: of recent origin and uncertain derivation. Its first appearance seems to have been in Margaret Mitchell s novel Gone with the Wind (1936), where it is borne by one of the sisters of Scarlett O Hara (the other being Sue Ellen). The name …   First names dictionary

  • careen — [v] tilt; move wildly down path bend, lean, lurch, pitch, sway, tilt; concept 147 …   New thesaurus

  • careen — ► VERB 1) turn (a ship) on its side for cleaning or repair. 2) (of a ship) tilt; lean over. 3) move in an uncontrolled way; career. ORIGIN from Latin carina a keel …   English terms dictionary

  • careen — UK [kəˈriːn] / US [kəˈrɪn] verb [intransitive] Word forms careen : present tense I/you/we/they careen he/she/it careens present participle careening past tense careened past participle careened mainly American 1) to move forwards quickly and… …   English dictionary

  • careen — ca|reen [ kə rin ] verb intransitive careen down/along/off to move forward quickly and suddenly, going from side to side in an uncontrolled way: The car hit a guardrail and careened across the freeway. a. careen from/toward to be in a situation… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • careen — [16] Careen comes ultimately from carīna, the Latin word for a ‘nutshell’, which is related to Greek káruon ‘nut’ and Sanskrit kárakas ‘coconut’. The idea of a ‘nut’ as a metaphor for a ‘boat’ is a fairly obvious one (shell is similarly used for… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

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