kitchen
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English kitchen, kichene, kuchen, from Old English cycen, cycene (“kitchen”), from Proto-Germanic *kukinōn (“kitchen”), probably a borrowing of Vulgar Latin cucīna (“kitchen”), from coquō (“cook”, v), from Proto-Indo-European *pekʷ- (“to cook, become ripe”). More at cook.
Germanic cognates include West Frisian koken (“kitchen”), Dutch keuken (“kitchen”), German Küche (“kitchen”), Low German Kök (“kitchen”), Danish kjøkken (“kitchen”), while Romance cognates include French cuisine (borrowed into English cuisine), Italian cucina, and Spanish cocina.
In other languages, the cognate term often refers not only to the room, but also to the type of cooking, while in English these two senses are generally distinguished via the etymological twins kitchen (“room”) (Germanic) and cuisine (“type of cooking”) (French).
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
kitchen (plural kitchens)
- A room or area for preparing food.
- An admixture of languages spoken to convey meaning between non-native speakers.
- Rider Haggard: King Solomon's Mines 1886: Sir Henry and Umbopo sat conversing in a mixture of broken English and kitchen Zulu, in low voices, but earnestly enough.
- (African American Vernacular) The nape of a person's hairline, often referring to its uncombed or "nappy" look.
- Cuisine.
- (music) The percussion section of an orchestra.
- 1981, Norman Del Mar, Anatomy of the Orchestra,
- For obvious reasons the percussion is normally arranged along the back of the platform, whether centrally or to one side, and sometimes also in two tiers, the heavy, noisier instruments behind, and the pitched, agile instruments such as vibraphone, marimba, etc. in front. An outstanding exception, however, exists in Roberto Gerhard's Epithalamion where the composer expressly desired that the all-important kitchen department be spread out in front of the strings and hence nearest the audience.
- 1981, Norman Del Mar, Anatomy of the Orchestra,
Usage notes [edit]
- (area for preparing food): A kitchen fruit, kitchen apple, or the like, or one good for the kitchen, is one suitable for use in prepared foods.
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from kitchen
Translations [edit]
room
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