keg

English

A typical keg (half-barrel) with a single opening in the center of the top end.

Alternative forms

• cag
• kag, kager (dialectal)

Etymology

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

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /kɛɡ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (dated, Southeastern Midwest of the U.S.) IPA^(key): /kæɡ/
• (dated, New England, Virginia, South Carolina) IPA^(key): /keɪɡ/
• Rhymes: -ɛɡ

Noun

keg (plural kegs)

1. 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[ornelius] 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

• sixtel

Derived terms

• Cornelius keg
• Corny keg
• keg beer
• kegger
• keg party
• keg stand
• pony keg
• pony keg station
• powder keg

 

Translations

round container of lesser capacity than a barrel

• Armenian: տակառիկ (takaṙik)
• Bulgarian: бъчонка f (bǎčonka), кег m (keg)
• Catalan: barril m, bóta (ca) f (barril en anglès)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 啤酒桶 (píjiǔ tǒng)

• Danish: fad n, fustage c, tønde (da) c
• Dutch: vat (nl) n, fust (nl) n
• Finnish: tynnyri (fi), lekkeri (fi)
• French: tonnelet (fr) m, baril (fr) m
• Georgian: კასრი (ka) (ḳasri)
• German: Fass (de) n
• Hungarian: hordó (hu), hordócska (hu)
• Icelandic: legill m
• Ido: bareleto (io)
• Italian: fusto (it) m, barile (it) m
• Kazakh: бөшке (böşke)
• Macedonian: буре n (bure)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: tønne (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: tønne f, tynne f

• Persian: چلیک (fa) (čelik), پیت (fa) (pit)
• Polish: antałek (pl) m, antał (pl) m
• Portuguese: barrica (pt) f, barrilete (pt) m
• Russian: бочо́нок (ru) m (bočónok)
• Slovene: sod (sl) m
• Spanish: barril (es) m, cuñete m, barrilete (es) m
• Swedish: kagge (sv) c
• Turkish: fıçı (tr)

Verb

keg (third-person singular simple present kegs, present participle kegging, simple past and past participle kegged)

1. (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.

2. (UK) The pulling down of someone's trousers or kegs, oftentimes as a kind of bullying or prank.

Anagrams

• EKG