: an oven, furnace, or heated enclosure used for processing a substance by burning, firing, or drying
kiln
transitive verb
Did you know?
The word kiln was kindled in Old English as a bundle of c-y-l-n. Unlike many words that descend from Old English, however, kiln is not ultimately Germanic in origin but was borrowed from Latin culina, meaning "kitchen," an ancestor of the English word culinary, which has been a menu option in English since the 17th century. An ingredient in culina is coquere, meaning "to cook" in Latin.
Cite this Entry
“Kiln.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kiln. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.
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