pail

C2+ Topic:Numbers & Quantity

US /peɪl/ UK /peɪl/ See IPA manual

Homophones

pale /ˈpeɪl/

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a bucket, especially one for carrying liquids

She filled the pail with milk at dawn.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a bucket, especially one... bucket tub can pannikin

Word family

Forms pailfulpailfuls

Derived forms pailful

Etymology

From Middle English payle, from Old English pægel 'gill, small measure', reinforced by Old French paele 'pan' (from Latin patella 'small pan'); the precise blend of the two sources is uncertain.

pægel Old English patella Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Numbers & Quantity

# pail

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** peɪl
**IPA (UK):** peɪl

## Meanings
1. a bucket, especially one for carrying liquids

## Examples
- She filled the pail with milk at dawn.

## Synonyms
- bucket
- tub
- can
- pannikin

## Derived Forms
- pailful

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pægel
- Root: patella

## Etymology
From Middle English payle, from Old English pægel 'gill, small measure', reinforced by Old French paele 'pan' (from Latin patella 'small pan'); the precise blend of the two sources is uncertain.

## AI Etymology
Pail comes from Middle English payle, from Old English pægel 'gill, small measure', reinforced by Old French paele 'pan' (from Latin patella 'small pan'); the precise blend of the two sources is uncertain. The etymological trail includes Old English pægel and Latin patella. As a noun, pail means a bucket, especially one for carrying liquids. The same family is visible in derived forms such as pailful. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Numbers & Quantity

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pail

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