firkin

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“
Up he got from his seat upon the firkin, and his head was in the shadows of the smoky timbers.

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Definitions (7)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. noun A small wooden barrel or covered vessel.
  2. noun Any of several British units of capacity, usually equal to about 1/4 of a barrel or 9 gallons (34 liters).

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (2)

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Examples (50)

  • Then the working and the washing of it to free it from the milk and the final packing into tub or firkin, its fresh odour in the air—what a picture it was! —  My Boyhood
  • Caspar shows up in the doorway looking for a firkin of water. —  Maguire, Gregory - Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister - UC [.html].htm
  • At the Dive Bar, the band made an announcement 10 minutes before the firkin was tapped. —  The MetroWest Daily News Homepage RSS
  • A firkin is actually a British term of measurement, but now is the term used for the container of cask-conditioned beers. —  The MetroWest Daily News Homepage RSS
  • When bar owner Alec Lopez tapped the firkin, the crowd cheered, and he and other bartenders rushed to fill the special Dogfish Head pint glasses and hand them out to the crowd. —  The MetroWest Daily News Homepage RSS
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This word has been looked up 173 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English ferken, ferdekin, probably from Middle Dutch *verdelkijn, diminutive of veerdel, one-fourth : veerde, fourth; see kwetwer- in Indo-European roots + deel, part; see dail- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Old Dutch *vierken (not found) (cf. Old Danish firik, a farthing, firken, a multiple of four), from Dutch vier, = English four, + -ken, English -kin. Cf. kilderkin, a measure of two firkins, also of Dutch origin.
 

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/ˈfərkɪn/
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