Word.ws English Dictionary

firkin

/ˈfɜːkɪn/US/ˈfɝkɪn/

firkin noun: a varying measure of capacity, usually being a quarter of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons.

Noun

firkin (plural firkins)

  1. (UK) A varying measure of capacity, usually being a quarter of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons.
    • 23 Hen. VIII, cap. 4... The barrel of beer is to hold 36 gallons, the kilderkin 18 gallons the firkin 9. But the barrel, kilderkin, and firkin of ale are to contain 32, 16, and 8 gallons.1882, James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, volume 4, page 205
    • But for his other guests he let bear in the massy cups of silver, and the great eared wine jars holding two firkins apiece, and he let pour forth to the Witches and the Foliots, and they drank the cup of memory unto King Gorice XI., slain that day by the hand of Goldry Bluszco.1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, page 31
  2. (US) A small wooden vessel or cask of indeterminate size, used for butter, lard, etc.
  3. A measurement for the mass of butter, equalling 56 pounds.

firkin meaning in Tamil

firkin in Tamil

மீன் வெண்ணெய்

Forms of firkin

pluralfirkins

Origin of firkin

From Middle Dutch *vierdekijn, diminutive of vierde (“fourth”), from vier (“four”); equivalent to fourth + -kin.

Words that rhyme with firkin

Questions about firkin

What does firkin mean?
Firkin means a varying measure of capacity, usually being a quarter of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons.
What is firkin in Tamil?
Firkin in Tamil is மீன் வெண்ணெய். See Firkin meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is firkin?
Firkin is a noun.
How do you pronounce firkin?
Firkin is pronounced /ˈfɝkɪn/ (US).
What is the plural of firkin?
The plural of firkin is firkins.

Words near firkin in the dictionary

  1. firings
  2. firk
  3. firka
  4. firkas
  5. firked
  6. firkin
  7. firking
  8. firkins
  9. firks
  10. Firkus
  11. Firkuses

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: firkin (page history and authors); firkin (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-firkin.wav.

Cite this entry: “firkin.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/firkin. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.