chimney
pronunciation
How to pronounce chimney in British English:
UK [ˈtʃɪmni]
How to pronounce chimney in American English:
US [ˈtʃɪmni]
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- Noun:
- a vertical flue that provides a path through which smoke from a fire is carried away through the wall or roof of a building
- a glass flue surrounding the wick of an oil lamp
Word Origin
- chimney
- chimney: [14] Greek kámīnos meant ‘furnace’ (it was related to kamárā ‘vaulted room’, source of English camera and chamber). It was borrowed into Latin as camīnus, from which the adjective camīnātus ‘having a furnace, oven, etc’ was derived. By late Latin times this had become a noun, camīnāta, which passed into Old French as cheminee, and thence into English. The original meanings ‘fireplace’ and ‘stove’ persisted until the 19th century, but already in Old French the sense ‘flue’ had developed, which was finally to win out.=> camera, chamber
- chimney (n.)
- late 13c., "furnace;" early 14c., "chimney stack of a fireplace;" late 14c., "fireplace in a residential space;" from Old French cheminee "fireplace; room with a fireplace; hearth; chimney stack" (12c., Modern French cheminée), from Late Latin (camera) caminata "fireplace; room with a fireplace," from Latin caminatus, adjective of caminus "furnace, forge; hearth, oven; flue," from Greek kaminos "furnace, oven, brick kiln." Jamieson [1808] notes that in vulgar use in Scotland it always is pronounced "chimley." Chimney sweep attested from 1610s, earlier chimney sweeper (c. 1500).
Example
- 1. The country 's chimney sweeps enjoy a near-perfect monopoly .
- 2. In front of the chimney is the destroyed 4th reactor .
- 3. The water rose even more , and jim climbed onto his chimney .
- 4. I could easily have been the victim of a cruise missile down the chimney at night .
- 5. The early example was of a smoking chimney or a well-tended front garden .