Word of the Day: Cauldron or Caldron

cauldron or caldron

caul-dron / kôl-drən

noun

1. a large pot or similar vessel, often with handles, used for boiling

A good word quenches more than a cauldron of water.

Portuguese Proverb

2. a condition of great distress, turmoil or agitation resembling a boiling pot

He felt a breath of fear on his neck at the thought that he must take his army into that cauldron.

From "The Saracen: The Holy War" by Robert Shea, 1933 - 1994

etymology

A variant of "caldron" which comes through the Old North French noun caudron/cauderon (a vessel for heating liquids) derived from the Latin adjective caldarius (suitable for warming), which is derived from the Latin djective calidus (warm) and verb caleo, calere, calui, ___ (be warm).

Thank you to Allen Ward for providing this etymology.