firkin

[ fur-kin ]

/ ˈfɜr kɪn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR firkin ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a British unit of capacity usually equal to a quarter of a barrel.

a small wooden vessel or tub for butter, lard, etc.

Words nearby firkin

firing order, firing party, firing pin, firing range, firing squad, firkin, firm, firmament, firman, firmer chisel, firmer gouge

Origin of firkin

1400–50; late Middle English ferdkyn, firdekyn, equivalent to ferde (variant of ferthe fourth) + -kin -kin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for firkin

There is an iron pot and a tea-kettle and a frying-pan and a barrel of flour and a firkin of Graham meal; what more do we want?
Nelly's Silver Mine|Helen Hunt Jackson
Firkin hoops, or hickory withs, about as large as the ramrod of a rifle, will answer the purpose very well.
Croquet|Anonymous
Mr. Firkin, as usual, was rigorously gentlemanly, in the quiet way.
The Potiphar Papers|George William Curtis
They had a firkin of ale in a corner, with which to moisten their inner clay between each round.
In the Roar of the Sea|Sabine Baring-Gould

Down he came, partly in the firkin and partly outside of it, falling in a very mixed condition.
Fighting the Sea|Edward A. Rand

British Dictionary definitions for firkin

firkin

/ (ˈfɜːkɪn) /

noun

a small wooden barrel or similar container

British a unit of capacity equal to nine gallons

Word Origin for firkin

C14 fir, from Middle Dutch vierde fourth + -kin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

firkin

noun

Words related to firkin

Words nearby firkin

Origin of firkin

Examples from the Web for firkin

British Dictionary definitions for firkin

noun

Word Origin for firkin