Etymologically
Log in

kettle

Etymology and origin of the English word kettle

History Permalink

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɛ.təl/; /ˈkɛ.təl/, /ˈkɪtəl/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English ketel, inherited from Old Norse ketill and inherited from Old English cetel,[2][3][4] from a prehistoric Germanic word (Proto-Germanic *katilaz),[5][3] usually said to be borrowed from Latin catillus (“small bowl, dish”),[2][6][5][3][4] a diminutive of catīnus “bowl, pot”.[2][6][5][3][4] It is one of the few Latin loanwords in Proto-Germanic;[5] Weekley attributes it to the superiority of Roman cookery.[5] The spelling with k- (c. 1300) is probably due to the Old Norse form.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A vessel, usually of metal, for boiling water or other liquids over a fire; a pot or cauldron (before 700).[7][6]

Semantic evolution

The phrase a kettle of fish at first named a riverside picnic at which fish were cooked (1791), and ironically, as in a pretty kettle of fish, an awkward mess (1742).[7] In geology a kettle is a pothole scoured in a river bed (1866)[7] or a hollow left in glacial drift by a melting block of ice.[2][3] In most varieties of English outside the United States the word usually means an appliance for boiling water for tea.[1]

Timeline

  • before 700 – a pot for boiling liquids.[7][6]
  • 1338 – Middle English ketil.[6]
  • 1742 – a pretty kettle of fish, a mess.[7]
  • 1866 – a pothole.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A metal pot, usually with a lid, for boiling or stewing.
  2. A teakettle; an appliance for boiling water.
  3. A kettledrum.
  4. (geology) A steep-sided hollow in glacial drift, left by the melting of an isolated block of glacier ice; also, a pothole.

Word family

  • teakettle
  • kettle of fish
  • kettledrum
  • cauldron

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Kettle.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/kettle. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·