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REFERENCE

tun

n.
C2 Proficiency UK //tˈʌn// tun Archaic Dialect Humorous Vulgar

n. a very large container for holding liquids, especially wine or beer. It is much bigger than a barrel and is used for storing large amounts of liquid.

n. a large cask or container for holding liquids, typically wine or beer. Often used in historical or technical contexts to describe the capacity of a vessel.


SIMPLE

The winery stored its best vintage in a large tun.

CONTEXTUAL

The brewery filled the massive tun with fresh ale before the fermentation process began.

COMPLEX

Historical records indicate that the monastery maintained a vast tun to supply the local population with water during the dry summer months.

Etymology 1

From Middle English tunne, tonne (“cask, barrel”), from Old English tunne (“tun, cask, barrel”), from Proto-Germanic tunnǭ, tunnō (“tun, barrel, cask”), from Latin tunna, probably of Gaulish origin. Cognate with North Frisian tenn (“tun, barrel, cask”), Dutch ton (“tun, barrel, cask”), German Tonne (“tun, barrel, drum”), Danish tønde (“barrel”), Swedish tunna (“barrel, cask, tun”), Icelandic tunna (“barrel”). Compare also Old French tonne, French tonneau (“ton, barrel”), Medieval Latin tunna (“cask”), Middle Irish tunna (“cask”), Welsh tynell (“tun, barrel”). It is uncertain whether the Germanic or the Celtic forms are the original.

Etymology 2

From Mayan.

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Malay tun.

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