keg
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English kag, from Old Norse kaggi (“keg”), likely a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kagô (“bush, branch, stalk, stump”). Cognate with Icelandic kaggi (“keg; cask”), Norwegian kagg (“keg”), Swedish kagge (“keg”), Low German kag (“vessel; craft”), Dutch kaag (“vessel; craft”). Compare also English cag and chag.
The modern form keg with /ɛ/ is due to a dialectal raising of /a///æ/ to /ɛ/ before velars (cf. fleg); the expected form is preserved in dialectal /kæɡ/, while /keɪɡ/ reflects further raising that occurred in some dialects.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /kɛɡ/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (dated, Southeastern Midwest of the U.S.) IPA(key): /kæɡ/[1]
- (dated, New England, Virginia, South Carolina) IPA(key): /keɪɡ/[1]
- Rhymes: -ɛɡ
Noun edit
keg (plural kegs)
- A round, traditionally wooden container of lesser capacity than a barrel, often used to store beer.
- 1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C. S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 72:
- He bore on his shoulder a stout keg, that seemed full of liquor, and made signs for Rip to approach and assist him with his load.
Coordinate terms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
round container of lesser capacity than a barrel
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Verb edit
keg (third-person singular simple present kegs, present participle kegging, simple past and past participle kegged)
- (transitive) To store in a keg.
- 2011, Carla Kelly, Coming Home for Christmas, page 116:
- He gestured toward the empty chair and the other officers began passing him their kegged beef and ship's biscuit.
- 2015, Randy Mosher, Mastering Homebrew, page 228:
- Many of us get impatient with the tedium of bottling after a year or two and start thinking about kegging our beers instead.