Naut. Also 7 kelleck(e, -ock, 8–9 -ick, 9 -agh, -eg, keeleg. [Of obscure origin; the spelling is unfixed, but most favor killick or killock.] A heavy stone used on small vessels as a substitute for an anchor; also a small anchor. † To come to a killick: to come to anchor (obs.). Up killick: to weigh anchor.
1630. Winthrop, New Eng. (1825), I. 40. The wind overblew so much at N.W. as they were forced to come to a killock at twenty fathom.
1632. T. Morton, New Eng. Canaan (1883), 262. The inconstant windes shiftinge at night did force the kellecke home, and billedge the boat.
1643. R. Williams, Key Lang. Amer., 111. Kunnosnep, a Killick, or Anchor.
1670. Narborough, Jrnl., in Acc. Sev. Late Voy., I. (1711), 107. Instead of Anchors, they have modern Crab-claws, or Kellocks.
1758. Ann. Reg., 292/1. They sent out another float, with killicks and ropes.
1768. J. Byron, Narr. Patagonia (ed. 2), 82. We … hove up our … kellick, which we had made to serve in the room of our grapnel.
1837–40. Haliburton, Clockm., viii. (1862), 29. I shall up killoch and off to-morrow to the Tree mont.
1840. R. H. Dana, Bef. Mast, xiv. 32. We usually keep anchored by a small kedge, or keeleg.
1883. Times, 18 May, 7/3. One man of genius with some bits of wood and a large stone seems to have fashioned a very good kedge or killick.
1897. R. Kipling, Captains Courageous, 63. Dad says next one [anchor] he loses … he’ll give him the kelleg.
