Dixies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Large metal cooking pots, typically cylindrical, used for boiling water or preparing food in outdoor or military settings
2. Cylindrical metal containers used for cooking, especially in camping, picnicking, or field kitchen operations
3. Large metal pots with handles, traditionally used for heating water or cooking food in camps and fieldwork environments

Etymology: "Dixies" is the plural of "dixie," a word for a metal cooking pot or mess tin, especially the kind used by soldiers. The noun reaches English through Hindi "degcī," meaning a kettle or metal cooking pot, which itself comes from Classical Persian "degča," a small pot or cauldron. That Persian word is built from "deg," meaning pot, with the diminutive ending "-ča," so the name of the vessel is essentially "little pot." The journey from South Asia to English most likely ran through the British military and colonial presence in India, where soldiers and servants encountered the vessel and its name. The English form dropped the Hindi ending and took on a shape that sounds like a familiar English word, which is a common fate for borrowed kitchen and camp vocabulary.