kiln

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>kiln</strong> &#149; \KILN\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><strong>:</strong> an oven, furnace, or heated enclosure used for processing a substance by burning, firing, or drying</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The art studio has purchased a <em>kiln</em> and now offers courses in ceramics.</p> <p>"He has a <em>kiln</em> in his garage, and each bust is given a finish that makes it appear to be made of bronze." — <a href="https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/military/veterans/2020/09/01/jacksonville-sculptor-makes-busts-honor-fallen-marines-florida/5616595002/">Matt Soergel, <em>The (Jacksonville) Florida Times-Union</em>, 1 Sept. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The word <em>kiln</em> was kindled in Old English as a bundle of c-y-l-n. Unlike many words that descend from Old English, however, <em>kiln</em> is not ultimately Germanic in origin but was borrowed from Latin <em>culina</em>, meaning "kitchen," an ancestor of the English word <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culinary">culinary</a></em>, which has been a menu option in English since the 17th century. An ingredient in <em>culina</em> is <em>coquere</em>, meaning "to cook" in Latin. </p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>