kettle: [13] Latin catīnus denoted a ‘deep pan or dish in which food was cooked or served’. Its diminutive form catillus was borrowed into prehistoric Germanic as *katilaz, which passed into Old English in the form cetel. This produced Middle English chetel, which died out in the 15th century, having been ousted by the related Old Norse form ketill.
Originally the term denoted any metal vessel for boiling liquid, and it is only really in the past century that its meaning has narrowed down to an ‘enclosed pot with a spout’. The original sense lingers on in the term fish kettle, and is still very much alive in related Germanic forms such as German kessel and Swedish kittel.
kettle (n.)
Old English cetil (Mercian), from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (compare Old Saxon ketel, Old Frisian zetel, Middle Dutch ketel, Old High German kezzil, German Kessel), probably from Latin catillus "deep pan or dish for cooking," diminutive of catinus "bowl, dish, pot." One of the few Latin loan-words in Proto-Germanic, along with *punda- "measure of weight or money" (see pound (n.1)) and a word relating to "merchant" that yielded cheap (adj.). "[I]t is striking that all have something to do with trade" [Don Ringe, "From Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Germanic," Oxford 2006]. Spelling with a -k- (c. 1300) probably is from influence of Old Norse cognate ketill. The smaller sense of "tea-kettle" is attested by 1769.
双语例句
1. I filled the kettle while she was talking and plugged it in.
她说话间，我把水壶灌满并插上了电源。
来自柯林斯例句
2. Well then, I'll put the kettle on and make us some tea.
好吧，我来烧壶水，我们沏点茶喝。
来自柯林斯例句
3. I'll put on the kettle for tea. Or boil up some coffee.
我要烧壶水沏茶，或者煮些咖啡。
来自柯林斯例句
4. She emptied both their mugs and switched on the electric kettle.
她把他们俩的杯子倒空，烧上了电水壶。
来自柯林斯例句
5. Playing for the reserve team is a totally different kettle of fish.
