ˈke]d. ə l, ]t ə l, ÷ ˈki]; some who have |ki] in “teakettle”and/or “kettle of fish” have |ke] in other contexts \ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English ketel, from Old Norse ketill; akin to Old English cietel kettle, Old High German kezzil, Gothic katilē (gen. plural); all from a prehistoric Germanic word borrowed from Latin catillus small bowl, dish, diminutive of catinus bowl, pot; perhaps akin to Greek kotylē cup, small vessel
1.
a.
(1) : a metallic vessel in which liquids or semifluid masses are boiled ; especially : teakettle
(2) : a cooking utensil with a bail handle
b. : a quantity cooked in a kettle at one time
could eat a whole kettle of stew
2.
a. obsolete : kettledrum 1
let the kettle to the trumpet speak — Shakespeare
b. : the metallic bowl of a kettledrum across which the parchment head is stretched
3.
a. : pothole
b. : a steep-sided hollow without surface drainage especially in a deposit of glacial drift and often containing a lake or swamp
4. North : a shallow metal pail
dinner kettle