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 funnels
Contemporary Examples
Another reason to keep an upper hand: Russia also funnels oil to Europe via a pipeline that runs directly through Ukraine.
Create a public jobs program that funnels the unemployed to fast growing areas such as at-home health care and child care.
Historical Examples
Smoke belching black from her funnels, the monster was beginning to move.
The HarborErnest Poole
This gave the Emden four funnels, such as the Yarmouth carried.
It will be convenient to have several of these funnels of different sizes.
Experiments and Observations on Different Kinds of AirJoseph Priestley
Above him towered one of the funnels, before him a long, slender mast.
The Girl on the BoatPelham Grenville Wodehouse
She did not appear to be a steamer because she had no funnels.
The World Peril of 1910George Griffith
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
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Word Origin and History for funnels
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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funnel
v.
1590s, from funnel (n.). Related: Funneled; funneling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper