Definition
A French maritime law term meaning the keel of a vessel. Used in historical French marine law, the term appears in legal instruments and codes governing the structure, ownership, and liability associated with seafaring vessels. As the keel is the foundational longitudinal structural member of a ship, references to the *quille* in legal texts often implicate questions of vessel identification, seaworthiness, and the extent of maritime contracts or obligations tied to the physical ship itself.
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Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): In modern French, *quille* means "keel" (the structural base of a boat) and also colloquially means a bowling pin or, in French military slang, discharge from military service.
Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): Webster's 1913 does not contain an entry for *quille* as an English word, reflecting its status as a French term not absorbed into the English legal or common lexicon.
The gap here is narrow but worth noting: English-language legal researchers encountering *quille* in translated or bilingual maritime documents should recognize it as a technical term of art from French maritime law, not a general descriptive word. Its legal significance attaches specifically to the physical keel as the defining structural reference point of a vessel in French admiralty instruments.
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Why It Matters in Research
Researchers will encounter *quille* almost exclusively in one context: the French *Ordonnance de la Marine* of 1681 (Ord. Mar. liv. 3, tit. 6, art. 8), the foundational French maritime code that influenced admiralty law across continental Europe, French colonial territories, and—through Louisiana's civil law inheritance—portions of American maritime jurisprudence. The term does not migrate into English common law admiralty sources; it belongs to the French civilian maritime tradition.
The practical trap for researchers is the risk of encountering *quille* in a translated document or secondary source and treating it as a generic descriptive rather than a legally operative term of art. In the context of the Ordonnance de la Marine, references to the keel carried specific legal weight in determining vessel identity for purposes of hypothecation (maritime mortgage), bottomry bonds, and ownership disputes. A vessel was sometimes legally understood to persist or be reconstituted so long as the keel endured—an idea with direct consequences for creditor rights and lien priority.
Researchers working in Louisiana maritime law, French colonial legal history, or the reception of the Ordonnance de la Marine into 19th-century American admiralty practice should note this term as a signal that the source is operating within the French civilian maritime framework, not the English common law admiralty tradition.
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Historical Dictionary Support
All three source dictionaries—Black's (1st ed.), Black's (2nd ed.), and Burrill's—agree exactly on the definition: *quille* means the keel of a vessel under French marine law, and all cite the same source authority (Ord. Mar. liv. 3, tit. 6, art. 8). The uniformity across sources reflects the term's narrow, non-contested scope; there is no recorded divergence in legal meaning. Burrill adds the language marker "Fr." to flag it as a French term, which is useful navigational information in a bilingual legal document.
What the historical dictionaries do not do is explain *why* the keel mattered legally—what legal consequences attached to the concept in French admiralty practice. They treat *quille* as a translation entry rather than a substantive legal concept entry. Researchers should not mistake the brevity of these definitions for legal insignificance; the term's importance lies in its connection to vessel identity doctrine within the Ordonnance de la Marine framework.
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Jurisdictional Note
*Quille* as a legal term of art is specific to French maritime law and jurisdictions operating under that tradition, including historical French territories and Louisiana. It has no operative meaning in English common law admiralty jurisdictions and will not appear in English-origin statutes or cases.
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