CARLING, noun A piece of timber in a ship, ranging fore and aft, from one deck beam to another, directly over the keel, serving as a foundation for the body of the ship. On these rest the ledges, on which the planks of the deck are made fast. Carline-knees are timbers in a ship, lying across from the sides to the hatchway, and serving to sustain the deck.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI