cauldron
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a large, round metal pot used for boiling liquids or cooking food over an open fire.
a large metal pot with a lid and handle, traditionally used for boiling over an open flame.
Simple“The witch in the story stirred a bubbling green liquid in her iron cauldron.”
In context“Archaeologists discovered a bronze cauldron at the site, suggesting the ancient inhabitants prepared communal meals over large central hearths.”
- 02 C2 Proficiency
a situation in war where an army is completely surrounded by the enemy.
a military situation in which a force is completely surrounded by enemy units; a translation of the German 'Kessel'.
Simple“The retreating soldiers were trapped in a cauldron and had to surrender.”
In context“The general feared his divisions would be pushed into a cauldron, cut off from their supply lines and vulnerable to total destruction.”
Synonymsencirclementpocket
“In a whitewashed basement in a village south of Kabul, a dozen young women bustle about, stirring cauldrons of bubbling cherries and plums, and sticking labels on glass jam jars.”
“The Catskills are a cauldron of class and ethnic tensions; first love is an intoxicating, disorientating hot mess.”
From Middle English caudroun, borrowed from Old Northern French caudron, ultimately from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), from Latin caldus (“hot”). Spelling later Latinized by having an l inserted. See chowder, caldera. The military sense is a semantic loan from German Kessel; compare English kettling.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.