Cauldron Meaning
/ˈkɔːl.dɹən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.
nounA type of encirclement.
Sentence Examples
The witch is stirring her cauldron.
The witch threw the toad into her cauldron.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The witch stirred a bubbling potion inside the iron ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The witch stirred a large black ____ in the middle of the dark cave.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English caudroun, borrowed from Old Northern French caudron, ultimately from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), from Latin caldus (“hot”). Spelling later Latinized by having an l inserted. See chowder, caldera. The military sense is a semantic loan from German Kessel; compare English kettling.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Double, double, toile and trouble; / Fire burne, and Cauldron bubble."
— c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i], page 143, column 2:
"[…] I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … […]"
— 1997, J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Raincoast Books, →ISBN, page 102:
"Large cauldrons are a little tricky to locate, but are well worth the search if you have a place to safely store and use one."
— 2004, Carl Neal, The Magick Toolbox: The Ultimate Compendium for Choosing and Using Ritual Implements and Magickal Tools, Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, →ISBN:
"After having defended the constantly shrinking perimeter of their position for over two weeks, the encircled German units in the Cherkassy “cauldron” were ordered to break out."
— 1966, George H. Stein, The Waffen SS: Hitler’s Elite Guard at War, 1939–1945, →ISBN, page 217:
"The cauldron had been formed, and some 2,000 Soviets had been encircled in it; the division estimated this quite a success."
— 2012, Hans Wijers, Winter Storm: The Battle for Stalingrad and the Operation to Rescue 6th Army, →ISBN, page 153:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The witch stirred a bubbling potion inside the iron ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The witch stirred a large black ____ in the middle of the dark cave.