Meaning
A vessel of wood, tin, plastic, etc., usually cylindrical and having a handle -- used especially for carrying liquids, for example water or milk; a bucket (sometimes with a cover).
Etymology
Origin: Old English
From Middle English payle (“bucket, pail, milking pail”), of uncertain origin. Likely from Old English pæġel (“wine vessel, container for liquids, pail; a liquid measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *pagil, from Proto-Indo-European *bak- (“peg, club”), equivalent to peg + -le. Compare West Frisian pegel (“liquid measure, fourth of a litre, half-pint”), German Pegel (“level of liquid, level”), Middle Dutch pegel (“half-pint”), Danish pægl (“half-pint”). Doublet of peil. Alternatively from Old French paielle (“frying pan, warming pan; a liquid measure”), from Latin patella (“small pan, shallow dish, platter”), diminutive of patina (“broad shallow pan, stewpan”). Perhaps a conflation of both.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 13 recorded puzzles:
- 2026-09-12IALMPRT
- 2026-02-27PABCEIL
- 2025-12-17PUATIDL
- 2025-11-10AIPNLOV
- 2025-08-02PARIDLY
- 2025-06-13PTANICL
- 2025-02-23IPANLCE
- 2025-01-08PTMILRA
- 2025-01-04IPHDELA
- 2024-05-15PANIFLT
- 2024-01-04PTAOLIM
- 2023-09-05MAIPLEB
+1 earlier appearances in the archive.