keg

English

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keg

Wikipedia

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. 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

Translations

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.

References

Anagrams

• EKG