A Word A Day — kiln
Good morning Netizens…
- DEFINITION
noun
- EXAMPLES
Now that the school has purchased a new
kiln
, it can offer more courses in ceramics.
“Neither thin nor delicate,
clinker brick
is the Marlon Brando of masonry: misshapen, blackened in the
kiln
, historically regarded as trash by brickmakers.” — From an article by Christopher Gray in
The New York Times
, March 10, 2013
- DID YOU KNOW?
“Kiln” has been a part of the English language for over 1,000 years, its first known use in Old English (as “cyline”) dating back to the early 700s. Unlike many words that descend from Old English, however, “kiln” is not ultimately Germanic in origin but was borrowed from Latin “culina,” meaning “kitchen,” an ancestor of the English word “culinary.” In the 14th century, speakers of Middle English began to drop the “n” at the end of the word, and even to this day some English speakers pronounce “kiln” so that it rhymes with “mill.” In fact, like “kiln,” “mill” (from Late Latin “molina”) was originally spelled and pronounced with a terminal “n.” Unlike “mill,” however, “kiln” has retained the final “n” in spelling, if not always in pronunciation
Read more at http://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/2013/04/10/#54MRiAukigBKUE4M.99
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