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