kilderkin

American  

[kil-der-kin] / ˈkɪl dər kɪn /

noun

1. a unit of capacity, usually equal to half a barrel or two firkins.

2. an English unit of capacity, equal to 18 imperial gallons (82 liters).

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kilderkin British  

/ ˈkɪldəkɪn /

noun

1. an obsolete unit of liquid capacity equal to 16 or 18 Imperial gallons or of dry capacity equal to 16 or 18 wine gallons

2. a cask capable of holding a kilderkin

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Etymology

Origin of kilderkin

1350–1400; Middle English, dissimilated variant of kinderkin < Middle Dutch, equivalent to kinder (≪ Arabic qinṭār quintal ) + -kin -kin

Example Sentences

A tun of man in thy large bulk is writ, But sure thou art but a kilderkin of wit.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 58, Number 358, August 1845 by Various

Whether in any foreign market, twopence advance in a kilderkin of corn could greatly affect our trade?

From Querist by Berkeley, George

Devil a drop have you left in the great kilderkin.

From The White Company by Doyle, Arthur Conan, Sir

A tun of man in thy large bulk is writ, But sure thou'rt but a kilderkin of wit.

From English Satires by Smeaton, William Henry Oliphant

Bagsby, as the individual least competent to enforce order, was called to the chair, and seated upon a kilderkin of Bordeaux, with a spigot as the emblem of authority.

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 5 by Various