ladle
/ˈleɪ.dəl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.66 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The float or paddle on a mill wheel.
noun
An instrument for drawing the charge of a cannon.
Example Sentences
- "When the materials of glass have been kept long in fusion, the mixture casts up the superfluous salt, which the workmen afterwards take off with ladles."
- "The great guns ranged along the deck — each bound fast by its new breechings — with their linstocks and sponges and ladles and rammers, made no idle show of warlike strength."
- "One worker ladled molten steel into the shot sleeve."
- "The host ladled the soup into her guests' bowls."
Etymology
From Middle English ladel, from Old English hlædel, derived from Proto-Germanic *hlaþaną (“to load”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂- (“to put, lay out”), same source as Lithuanian kloti (“to spread”), equivalent to lade + -le (“agent suffix”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ladel, hlædel, *hlaþaną, *kleh₂-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈleɪ.dəl/
- British English: /ˈleɪ.dəl/