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cask

/kæsk/
/kɑsk/
IPA guide

Other forms: casks

A barrel-shaped container that holds wine or other, usually alcoholic, beverages is called a cask. If you visit a winery, you will often see many rows of wooden wine-filled casks lining the caves and cellars of the winery. If you have a large party, you can open a cask of wine.

Experts aren't exactly sure what the origin of the word cask is. They know that it is a noun that comes from the Middle French word casque or the Spanish word casco, and both mean "helmet," but how we got from helmet to wine-filled barrel-shaped container is unclear. Students may have heard of the word cask from Edgar Allan Poe's famous short story of revenge and murder set in a wine cellar, "The Cask of Amontillado."

Definitions of cask
  1. noun
    a cylindrical container that holds liquids
    synonyms: barrel
    see moresee less
    types:
    beer barrel, beer keg
    a barrel that holds beer
    butt
    a large cask (especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 hogsheads or 126 gallons)
    hogshead
    a large cask especially one holding 63 gals
    keg
    small cask or barrel
    pickle barrel
    a barrel holding vinegar in which cucumbers are pickled
    shook
    a disassembled barrel; the parts packed for storage or shipment
    tun
    a large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals
    wine barrel, wine cask
    a barrel that holds wine
    firkin
    a small wooden keg
    powder keg
    keg (usually made of metal) for gunpowder or blasting powder
    water butt
    a butt set on end to contain water especially to store rainwater
    type of:
    vessel
    an object used as a container (especially for liquids)
  2. noun
    the quantity a cask will hold
    synonyms: caskful
    see moresee less
    type of:
    containerful
    the quantity that a container will hold
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘cask'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of gold-punch.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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