Kettle

How to spell kettle

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce kettle

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does kettle mean?

1. nounA covered metal or plastic container with a spout and handle, used for boiling water.

Kettle in a sentence

• She filled the kettle and switched it on for tea.

• The electric kettle in the office takes about a minute to boil.

Where does kettle come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Kettle comes from the Old English cetel, a word for a cooking vessel, which was reinforced in spelling and sound by the related Old Norse ketill brought to Britain by Norse settlers. Both of these Germanic forms ultimately go back to the Latin catillus, the diminutive of catinus, meaning a small bowl or deep dish for food. The word travelled into the Germanic languages very early, long before the Norman Conquest, which is why it feels thoroughly native English rather than borrowed. Over the centuries the sense narrowed from any cooking pot to the specific covered vessel used for boiling water, and later still to the electric appliance found in modern kitchens. The doubled -tt- and the soft -le ending are the spots that trip writers up, since the word sounds simpler than it looks.

How the word is built

• kettle (a single root from Old English cetel: a cooking vessel); the trap is the doubled -tt- before the -le ending