pipkin

A cook stirs soup in a small pipkin over a fire.

Definition

Noun: A small earthenware pot or pan, typically used for cooking or heating food over a direct flame.

Usage Examples

• (A small clay pot used for gentle heating.)
• (A small earthenware cooking vessel.)
• (A small clay pan used near a fire.)

Advanced Usage

• "to stew in one's own pipkin": an archaic expression meaning to suffer the consequences of one's own actions, similar to "to stew in one's own juice."
  • After his foolish bet, he was left to stew in his own pipkin. (He was left to endure the results of his own poor choices.)

Variants and Related Words

• Pipkin-shaped (adj): having the form of a small earthenware pot.
  • The garden ornament was pipkin-shaped, with a rounded body and a narrow neck. (Shaped like a small clay pot.)
• Pipkin-maker (n): a person who manufactures pipkins.
  • The pipkin-maker sold his wares at the fair. (A potter specializing in small clay pots.)

Synonyms

• Crock: a small earthenware pot or jar.
• Pipkin is also synonymous with crucible in some contexts, though a crucible is usually for high-temperature melting.
• Stewpot: a pot used for slow cooking, though this is often larger and metal.

Related Idioms

• "A pipkin of milk": a phrase used in older English literature to indicate a small, simple amount of a staple food.
  • The beggar asked for only a pipkin of milk and a crust of bread. (A very small quantity of milk.)