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kettle

n. · v.
US //ˈkɛtəɫ// UK //kˈɛtəl// ket·tle
  1. 1 water boiler (n.)
    A1 Beginner Cooking

    a container with a lid and a handle used for boiling water, usually for tea or coffee.

    a metal or plastic vessel, often electric, designed specifically for boiling water for beverages or cooking.

    Example

    I'll put the kettle on and make us a nice cup of tea.

    Example

    Modern electric kettles are equipped with automatic shut-off sensors to prevent the heating element from burning out once the water reaches boiling point.
  2. 2 crowd control (n.)
    C1 Advanced British English

    a situation where police surround a group of protesters to keep them in one place.

    a police tactic or the resulting formation where a large crowd is confined within a cordoned area.

    Example

    The protesters were stuck in a police kettle for several hours without water.

    Example

    Civil liberties groups criticised the use of the kettle, arguing that detaining peaceful demonstrators for hours was a violation of their rights.
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  1. 3 geological hole (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical Science

    a bowl-shaped hole in the ground formed by melting ice from a glacier.

    a depression in a glacial outwash drift made by the melting of a detached mass of glacial ice.

    Example

    The park is famous for its deep kettle lakes formed thousands of years ago.

    Example

    The landscape is dotted with kettles and kames, providing clear evidence of the retreating ice sheet during the last glacial period.
  2. 4 group of birds (n.)
    C2 Proficiency Technical

    a group of large birds, like hawks, flying together in a circle.

    a collective noun for a group of raptors circling in a thermal, typically observed during migration.

    Example

    We looked up and saw a kettle of hawks rising high on the warm air.

    Example

    Birdwatchers gathered at the ridge to witness a massive kettle of broad-winged hawks gaining altitude before continuing their southward journey.
  3. 5 to surround a crowd (v.)
    C1 Advanced British English Law

    when police surround a group of people to stop them from moving or leaving.

    to confine a group of demonstrators or protesters within a limited area as a method of crowd control.

    Example

    The police decided to kettle the marchers at the end of the street.

    Example

    The decision to kettle the crowd was met with significant resistance, leading to a tense standoff between the officers and the trapped activists.

    Usage

    The verb is transitive and requires a direct object, usually a group of people.
Origin

From Middle English ketel, also chetel, from Old English ċietel (“kettle, cauldron”) and in Middle English possibly influenced by Old Norse ketill and both from Proto-Germanic *katilaz (“kettle, bucket, vessel”), of uncertain origin and formation. Usually regarded as a borrowing of Late Latin catīllus (“small bowl”), diminutive of Latin catinus (“deep bowl, vessel for cooking up or serving food”), however, the word may be Germanic confused with the Latin: compare Old English cete (“cooking pot”), Old High German chezzi (“a kettle, dish, bowl”), Icelandic kati, ketla (“a small boat”). Cognate with West Frisian tsjettel (“kettle”), Dutch ketel (“kettle”), German Kessel (“kettle”), Swedish kittel (“cauldron, kettle”), Gothic 𐌺𐌰𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (katils, “kettle”), Finnish kattila, Polish kocioł (“cauldron”), Czech kotel (“boiler”), Russian котёл (kotjól, “boiler, cauldron”). (watch): Cockney rhyming slang from 'kettle and hob' to 'fob' (fob watch).

Idioms2 entries

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