tun
/tʌn/
Definition
Noun: 1. A large cask or barrel: Specifically, a large wooden vessel used historically for storing, fermenting, or transporting liquids, especially wine, beer, or ale. Its capacity is traditionally defined as 252 wine gallons (approximately 954 liters). 2. A unit of liquid measure: A measure of volume, primarily for wine, equivalent to 252 gallons.
Usage
The word "tun" is a specialized term, primarily historical or used in specific contexts like brewing, winemaking, or historical measurement. It refers to a container of a specific, large size. - As a container: "The brewery stored the aging ale in a massive oak tun." - As a unit of measure: "The shipment was recorded as ten tuns of wine."
Examples
- The winery still uses an ancient stone tun for fermentation.
- In medieval England, a tun of wine was a standard fiscal unit for taxation.
- They needed to clean the great tun before the new brewing season.
Advanced Usage
- "Tun-dish": (Historical) A funnel used for filling a tun.
- In compound terms: The word appears in historical or technical compounds, but these are distinct terms (e.g., a tun-bellied person is one with a large, barrel-shaped belly).
Variants and Related Words
- Tunned (verb, past tense): The act of having put something into a tun. (e.g., "The wine was tunned last autumn.")
- Tunning (verb, present participle/gerund): The process of putting into a tun.
- Tunny: (Note: This is a different word, meaning a large marine fish like tuna, and is not a variant of "tun").
Synonyms
- Cask: A general term for a barrel-shaped container.
- Butt: Another large cask, specifically half the volume of a tun (126 gallons).
- Hogshead: A large cask, typically holding about 63 gallons.
- Vat: A large tank or tub, often not barrel-shaped.
Phrasal Verbs / Related Phrases
(Not commonly applicable for this noun)
Related Idioms
- "Tight as a tun": (Archaic) An idiom describing someone who is very drunk, implying they are as full as a barrel of liquor.
Noun
-
a large cask especially one holding a volume equivalent to 2 butts or 252 gals
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