English
kiln
Kiln comes from Old English cyln ‘large oven, kiln’, from Latin culīna ‘kitchen, kitchen stove’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to cook, become ripe’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷeti‘to be cooking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷō‘to cook’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquō‘to cook’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquīnus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquīna‘kitchen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEculīna‘kitchen, kitchen stove’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cyln‘large oven, kiln’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kilne
- Englishearliest quotation 2006kiln
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pekʷ-‘to cook, become ripe’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*pékʷeti‘to be cooking’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*kʷekʷō‘to cook’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquō‘to cook’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquīnus
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcoquīna‘kitchen’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEculīna‘kitchen, kitchen stove’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150cyln‘large oven, kiln’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500kilne
- Englishearliest quotation 2006kiln
Earliest quotation: 2006, Edwin Black: “One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of…”
The story
Middle English -ln(e) usually becomes modern -ll as in mill. The pronunciation /kɪln/ may be based on dialects in which this simplification did not take place, but it must have been at least reinforced by spelling pronunciation.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- ‘to cook, become ripe’
pumpkin, ricotta, quitter, peptic, dyspepsia, 14 more
through Latin coquō ‘to cook’
concoction, concoct, decoction, 6 more
through Latin coquus
through Latin coquīna ‘kitchen’
through Latin culīna ‘kitchen, kitchen stove’
Today it means
noun An oven or furnace or a heated chamber, for the purpose of hardening, burning, calcining or drying anything; for example, firing ceramics, curing or preserving tobacco, or drying grain.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- / kiln