kettle
/ˈkɛ.təl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.54 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A vessel or appliance used to boil water for the preparation of hot beverages and other foodstuffs.
noun
noun
A group of raptors swirling and spiraling upward as they ride a thermal, especially when migrating.
noun
A kettledrum.
Example Sentences
- "To cook pasta, you first need to put the kettle on."
- "There's a hot kettle of soup on the stove."
- "Stick the kettle on and we'll have a nice cup of tea."
- "a kettle of hawks"
- "Kettles can consist of thousands of birds migrating together."
- "the "River of Raptors" - an enormous kettle of hawks - circles over Cardel, in Veracruz, Mexico, in early October"
Etymology
From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old English ċietel (“kettle, cauldron”) and in Middle English possibly influenced by Old Norse ketill and both from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (“kettle, bucket, vessel”), of uncertain origin and formation. Usually regarded as a borrowing of Late Latin catīllus (“small bowl”), diminutive of Latin catinus (“deep bowl, vessel for cooking up or serving food”), however, the word may be Germanic confused with the Latin: compare Old English cete (“cooking pot”), Old High German chezzi (“a kettle, dish, bowl”), Icelandic kati, ketla (“a small boat”). Cognate with West Frisian tsjettel (“kettle”), Dutch ketel (“kettle”), German Kessel (“kettle”), Swedish kittel (“cauldron, kettle”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (katils, “kettle”), Finnish kattila, Polish kocioł (“cauldron”), Czech kotel (“boiler”), Russian котёл (kotjól, “boiler, cauldron”). (watch): Cockney rhyming slang from 'kettle and hob' to 'fob' (fob watch).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ketel, ċietel, ketill, *katilaz, catīllus, catinus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkɛ.təl/