inkwell

American  

[ingk-wel] / ˈɪŋkˌwɛl /

noun

1. a small container for ink.

---

inkwell British  

/ ˈɪŋkˌwɛl /

noun

1. a small container for pen ink, often let into the surface of a desk

---

Etymology

Origin of inkwell

First recorded in 1870–75; ink + well ²

Explanation

An inkwell is a small container that's used to hold ink. In the old days, students would sit at their wooden desks and dip their quill pens into inkwells. In the time before refillable fountain pens — and long before ballpoint pens — anyone who wanted to write in ink needed an inkwell. Every few letters or words, a writer would have to dip their quill into ink. Portable inkwells allowed the ink to travel, and school desks had round indentations where inkwells were kept. These schoolroom inkwells were the first to have this name, because they were recessed like a well, or "dug hole."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inkwell

The bizarre imagery of war feeds back into civilian normality in a British pen stand and inkwell fashioned from the nose fuse of a German shell.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

In one, he impatiently gestured for aides to move an inkwell and tray of pens out of his way.

From New York Times ● Sep. 16, 2022

O’Farrell creeps into this gloomy realm of intrigue with an inkwell full of blood and a stiletto for her pen.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2022

When modern archaeologists first chanced on a board of Fifty-eight Holes, they mistook it for an inkwell.

From The New Yorker ● Mar. 26, 2019

Within seconds, I’ve dipped my pen in my inkwell.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko