ket·tle / ˈketl/ • n. a vessel, usually made of metal and with a handle, used for boiling liquids or cooking foods; a pot. ∎  a teakettle.DERIVATIVES: ket·tle·ful / -ˌfoŏl/ n. (pl. -fuls) .ORIGIN: Old English cetel, cietel, of Germanic origin, based on Latin catillus, diminutive of catinus ‘deep container for cooking or serving food.’ In Middle English the word's form was influenced by Old Norse ketill.

kettle kettle of fish originally (in late 18th-century Scotland) an expression for a kettle of fish cooked during a boating excursion or picnic, and thus applied to the picnic itself. The ironical use a pretty kettle of fish! is likely to be an extension of this.

See also the pot calling the kettle black.

kettle XIII. — ON. ketill = OE. ċetel, WS. ċietel (ME., dial. chetel), OS. (Du.) ketel, OHG. kezzil (G. kessel), Goth. *katils :- Gmc. *katilaz — L. catillus, dim. of catīnus deep vessel for serving or cooking food.
Hence kettledrum XVI.