pail
The origin and history of pail.
Etymology
Comes from Middle English payle (“bucket, pail, milking pail”), of uncertain origin. It is likely from Old English pæġel (“wine vessel, container for liquids, pail; a liquid measure”), from Proto-West Germanic *pagil, from Proto-Indo-European *bak- (“peg, club”), equivalent to peg and -le. Compare West Frisian pegel (“liquid measure, fourth of a litre, half-pint”), German Pegel (“level of liquid, level”), Middle Dutch pegel (“half-pint”), and Danish pægl (“half-pint”). It is a doublet of peil. Alternatively, it may come from Old French paielle (“frying pan, warming pan; a liquid measure”), from Latin patella (“small pan, shallow dish, platter”), a diminutive of patina (“broad shallow pan, stewpan”) — perhaps the word blends both origins.
