means A metal container with a lid, spout, and handle, used for boiling water — either heated on a stove or, these days, powered by electricity.

from From Old English 'cetel,' which traces back to Latin 'catillus,' a little dish or bowl (a diminutive of 'catinus,' a deep vessel). The Romans likely passed the word along to the Germanic peoples through the kitchen, where it spread across Old Norse and Dutch as well. So the kettle began life not as a screamer but as a humble bowl — it took on its boiling, whistling identity over the centuries.