kilderkin

[kil-der-kin]

noun

a unit of capacity, usually equal to half a barrel or two firkins.
an English unit of capacity, equal to 18 imperial gallons (82 liters).

Origin of kilderkin

1350–1400; Middle English, dissimilated variant of kinderkin < Middle Dutch, equivalent to kinder (≪ Arabic qinṭār quintal) + -kin -kin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kilderkin

Historical Examples of kilderkin

We have adopted it as kilderkin, but have doubled its capacity.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)
Ernest Weekley
Kilderkin, kil′dėr-kin, n. a small barrel: a liquid measure of 18 gallons.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for kilderkin

kilderkin

noun

an obsolete unit of liquid capacity equal to 16 or 18 Imperial gallons or of dry capacity equal to 16 or 18 wine gallons
a cask capable of holding a kilderkin

Word Origin for kilderkin

C14: from Middle Dutch kindekijn, from kintal hundredweight, from Medieval Latin quintale; see kentledge

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