cauldron
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of cauldron
1250–1300; Middle English, alteration (by association with Latin caldus warm) of Middle English cauderon < Anglo-French, equivalent to caudere (< Late Latin caldāria; see caldera) + -on noun suffix
Explanation
A cauldron is a big pot used over an open fire. You may picture the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth hovering over a cauldron of "Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat and tongue of dog" — yum! The cauldron, while conjuring up images of — well, conjuring — actually came from the Latin root calidus, meaning "hot." We can see this root in other Latin-based languages, including the Spanish caliente and Italian caldo. In English, the word became cauldron — a creepy name for a very useful pot.
Vocabulary lists containing cauldron
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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Boy: Tales of Childhood
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“It bubbled up into one big cauldron of discontent.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Now we are four confused people bobbing up and down in this cauldron of unbearable repetition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
A second ceremony, including its own Olympic cauldron, will take place in Cortina, while other satellite ceremonies will occur in Predazzo and Livigno.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026
In Milan, the pulsating cauldron inspired by the sun will burn at Arco della Pace.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
“Don’t you understand? The cauldron is gone! Away! Not there!”
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
