cask

From Middle French casque. Doublet of casco and casque.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kɑːsk/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• (US) IPA^(key): /kæsk/

• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -æsk
• Homophone: casque

cask (plural casks)

1. A large barrel for the storage of liquid, especially of alcoholic drinks. (See a diagram of cask sizes.)

   Hyponyms: tun (1), pipe (½), butt (½), puncheon (⅓), tertian (⅓), hogshead (¼), tierce (⅙), barrel (⅛), rundlet (⅟₁₄)

2. (obsolete) A casket; a small box for jewels.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies. […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], line 409:

     A jewel, locked into the woefullest cask / That ever did contain a thing of worth.

3. (archaic, slang) A brougham or other private carriage.
4. Obsolete form of casque (“visorless helmet”).

• (carriage): John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary

cask (third-person singular simple present casks, present participle casking, simple past and past participle casked)

1. To put into a cask.

• quash

• ACKs, KCAS, SKCA, acks, sack