chymeney

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French cheminee, from Late Latin camināta. Forms starting with k- are from Old Northern French; forms ending in -th are from early Old French *cheminethe.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈtʃim(ə)neː/, /ˈtʃimineː/, /ˈtʃim(ə)nɛi̯/, /ˈkim(ə)nɛi̯/, /ˈtʃiminɛi̯/

Noun

chymeney (plural chymeneys)

  1. A hearth; a location where a fire can be lighted.
  2. A chimney; a ventilation chamber for the smoke produced by fire.
    • a. 1382, John Wycliffe, “Osee 13:3”, in Wycliffe's Bible:
      Therfor thei schulen be as a morewtid cloude, and as the deew of morewtid, that passith forth, as dust rauyschide bi whirlewynd fro the corn floor, and as smoke of a chymenei.
      And so they will be like the morning cloud, and the dew of the morning which dissipates, as dust lifted by whirlwind from the corn floor, and like the smoke of a chimney.
  3. A device for heating; a stove or furnace.
  4. (rare, figuratively) Something which heats or forges.
  5. (rare, figuratively) Any ventilation chamber.

Descendants

References
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.