tankard en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Canada) audio
- /ˈtæŋkəd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈtæŋkɚd/ (General-American)
Etymology
From Middle English tan(c)kard(e), denoting 'a large tub for carrying liquid', perhaps related to Dutch tanckaert, from Middle Dutch tanckaert, meaning the same thing, but of uncertain ultimate origin. The OED suggests an alteration of Medieval Latin *kantard, from Latin cantharus (“tankard”). Klein suggests French tant quart (“as much of a quarter”). Meaning "drinking vessel" is first recorded late 15th century.
Meanings
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A large drinking vessel, sometimes of pewter, sometimes with a glass base, with one handle and often a hinged cover.
They were left alone, and Athelny lifted the pewter tankard to his lips. He drank long and deep.
1915, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, →OCLC:It was a miserable evening; outside it was snowing and blowing, and in the squire's parlour the candle burned so dimly that you could scarcely distinguish anything in the room but a clock-case with some Chinese ornaments, a large mirror in an old-fashioned frame, and a silver family tankard.
1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 249:I sure would be much happier with a tankard of mead right about now.
You can feel the squelch of damp soil underfoot, the weight of a tankard in the hand. Clever of them to get Vermeer to serve as interior set designer.
2026 January 31, Janan Ganesh, “The Hamnet wars”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 20:[…] [Jemima] began filling a number of pewter tankards with some of that home-brewed ale for which “The Fisherman’s Rest” had been famous since the days of King Charles.
1905 January 12, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], The Scarlet Pimpernel, popular edition, London: Greening & Co., published 20 March 1912, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tankards | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Descendants
Relateds
Translations (29)
es jarra (drinking vessel) · cmn 大酒杯 (drinking vessel) · fi tuoppi (drinking vessel) · fi kolpakko (drinking vessel) · gl pichel (drinking vessel) · sv sejdel (drinking vessel) · ca boc (drinking vessel) · izh tooppi (drinking vessel) · cy tancard (drinking vessel) · ca xop (drinking vessel) · de Humpen (drinking vessel) · it boccale (drinking vessel) · eo tasego (drinking vessel) · pl kufel (drinking vessel) · ru кру́жка (drinking vessel) · ga tancard (drinking vessel) · ca gerra (drinking vessel) · mk бардак (drinking vessel) · da krus (drinking vessel) · ota بارداق (drinking vessel) · nl pul (drinking vessel) · hu kupa (drinking vessel) · de Seidel (drinking vessel) · ota مشربه (drinking vessel) · bg халба (drinking vessel) · fr chope (drinking vessel) · sv stånka (drinking vessel) · ja タンカード (drinking vessel) · de Krug (drinking vessel)