firkin
Americannoun
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a British unit of capacity usually equal to a quarter of a barrel.
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a small wooden vessel or tub for butter, lard, etc.
noun
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a small wooden barrel or similar container
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a unit of capacity equal to nine gallons
Etymology
Origin of firkin
1400–50; late Middle English ferdkyn, firdekyn, equivalent to ferde (variant of ferthe fourth ) + -kin -kin
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.
He uses an antique wooden firkin once used for storing flour and sugar to sit on that the older French speaking duck hunters call a “bedon.”
From Washington Times • Jun. 21, 2020
In the flesh, Ruth Davidson, 37, is a firkin of fun, speaks with a machine-gun delivery and can hold her own.
From BBC • Jan. 13, 2016
Young Farmer sat on a firkin of butter, and leaned against the zinc lined side of the refrigerator, and tried to pray, but he had forgotten the combination; and couldn't make a first payment.
From Peck's Sunshine Being a Collection of Articles Written for Peck's Sun, Milwaukee, Wis. - 1882 by Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
Now I am writing while sitting upon a firkin of apples that I had sent from our neighbor Williams, waiting for the squad to come and help me eat them.
From At Plattsburg by French, Allen
When the products of several churnings are placed in the same firkin, the surface of each churning should be furrowed, so that the next layer may be mixed with it.
From The Stock-Feeder's Manual the chemistry of food in relation to the breeding and feeding of live stock by Cameron, Charles Alexander, Sir
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.
