kettle(名词):水壶;烧水壶,用于煮沸或加热水的容器(常见有炉灶水壶与电热水壶)。也可指更广义的“壶/锅状容器”,但最常用的是“烧水壶”。
/ˈketl/
I put the kettle on for tea.
我把水壶(烧上水)打开来泡茶。
As the kettle began to whistle, she realized the water had been boiling for several minutes and hurried to pour it into the teapot.
当水壶开始鸣笛时,她才意识到水已经沸腾好几分钟了,赶紧把开水倒进茶壶里。
kettle源自古法语 quetel/ketel,再往前可追溯到日耳曼语系中表示“锅、釜”的词根(与“烹煮用容器”相关)。词义长期围绕“用于加热液体的容器”,现代英语里最常见指“烧水壶/电水壶”。