Kilnholes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Openings or apertures in a kiln through which pottery and other ceramic items are inserted for firing or removed after completion
2. Ports or holes built into a kiln's structure to allow access for placing and retrieving ceramic ware during the firing process
3. Access points in a kiln designed to permit the loading of unfired pieces and the extraction of finished ceramic products

Etymology: A kiln is named after the kitchen. Its English form comes from Old English "cyln," borrowed from Latin "culina," meaning kitchen or cookhouse, so the furnace that bakes bricks and fires pottery shares a root with the room where food is cooked. Kilnholes are the openings in the base of a kiln, where fuel is fed in and air is drawn through to control the heat. "Kilnholes" is the plural of "kilnhole." The second element, "hole," is an ordinary Old English word, so the compound is a plain description of a hole in a kiln.