CHIMNEY

chimney

(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

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

chimney (plural chimneys)

A vertical tube or hollow column used to emit environmentally polluting gaseous and solid matter (including but not limited to by-products of burning carbon or hydrocarbon based fuels); a flue.

The glass flue surrounding the flame of an oil lamp.

(British) The smokestack of a steam locomotive.

A narrow cleft in a rock face; a narrow vertical cave passage.

Verb

chimney (third-person singular simple present chimneys, present participle chimneying, simple past and past participle chimneyed)

(climbing) To negotiate a chimney (narrow vertical cave passage) by pushing against the sides with back, feet, hands, etc.

Source: Wiktionary


Chim"ney, n.; pl. Chimneys. Etym: [F. cheminée, LL. caminata, fr. L. caminus furnace, fireplace, Gr.

1. A fireplace or hearth. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

2. That part of a building which contains the smoke flues; esp. an upright tube or flue of brick or stone, in most cases extending through or above the roof of the building. Often used instead of chimney shaft. Hard by a cottage chimney smokes. Milton.

3. A tube usually of glass, placed around a flame, as of a lamp, to create a draft, and promote combustion.

4. (Min.)

Definition: A body of ore, usually of elongated form, extending downward in a vein. Raymond. Chimney board, a board or screen used to close a fireplace; a fireboard.

– Chimney cap, a device to improve the draught of a chimney, by presenting an exit aperture always to leeward.

– Chimney corner, the space between the sides of the fireplace and the fire; hence, the fireside.

– Chimney hook, a hook for holding pats and kettles over a fire, -- Chimney money, hearth money, a duty formerly paid in England for each chimney.

– Chimney pot (Arch.), a cylinder of earthenware or sheet metal placed at the top of a chimney which rises above the roof.

– Chimney swallow. (Zoöl.) (a) An American swift (Chæture pelasgica) which lives in chimneys. (b) In England, the common swallow (Hirundo rustica).

– Chimney sweep, Chimney sweeper, one who cleans chimneys of soot; esp. a boy who climbs the flue, and brushes off the soot.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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