funnel
[fuhn-l]
- a cone-shaped utensil with a tube at the apex for conducting liquid or other substance through a small opening, as into a bottle, jug, or the like.
- a smokestack, especially of a steamship.
- a flue, tube, or shaft, as for ventilation.
- Eastern New England. a stovepipe.
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- to concentrate, channel, or focus: They funneled all income into research projects.
- to pour through or as if through a funnel.
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- to pass through or as if through a funnel.
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Origin of funnel
1375–1425; late Middle English fonel < Old Provençal fonilh (Gascon) < Vulgar Latin *fundibulum, for Latin infundibulum, derivative of infundere to pour in
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for funnel
Contemporary Examples
ISIS is able to funnel about 30 to 50 suicide bombers a month into Iraq.
So why, then, is Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel lobbying the Illinois legislature to funnel more people into prison for longer?
Basically, Time Warner Cable agreed to funnel more cash to CBS.
The funnel swerved off the road and came sweeping up the hillside toward them.
The funnel was roaring in the depths of the woods; William boldly pursued it for another half mile.
Historical Examples
Pour it through a funnel into half-pint bottles, and cork them well.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various BranchesEliza Leslie
On the outside the ground slopes away gently from the funnel.
Johnny BearE. T. Seton
A Prairie-dog hole is shaped like a funnel, going straight down.
Johnny BearE. T. Seton
She had not a sail aloft nor a plume of smoke in her funnel.
The Cruise of the Dry DockT. S. Stribling
The funnel was freshly painted black with a red band at the top.
The Cruise of the Dry DockT. S. Stribling
funnel
- a hollow utensil with a wide mouth tapering to a small hole, used for pouring liquids, powders, etc, into a narrow-necked vessel
- something resembling this in shape or function
- a smokestack for smoke and exhaust gases, as on a steamship or steam locomotive
- a shaft or tube, as in a building, for ventilation
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- to move or cause to move or pour through or as if through a funnel
- to concentrate or focus or be concentrated or focused in a particular directionthey funnelled their attention on the problem
- (intr) to take on a funnel-like shape
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Word Origin
C15: from Old Provençal fonilh, ultimately from Latin infundibulum funnel, hopper (in a mill), from infundere to pour in
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
Word Origin and History for funnel
n.
c.1400, from Middle French fonel, from Provençal enfounilh, "a word from the Southern wine trade" [Weekley], from Late Latin fundibulum, shortened from Latin infundibulum "a funnel or hopper in a mill," from infundere "pour in," from in- "in" + fundere "pour" (see found (v.2)).
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v.
1590s, from funnel (n.). Related: Funneled; funneling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper