# keg

> English word · Noun · IPA /kɛɡ/ · frequency rank #26,479

## Definitions
1. A round, traditionally wooden container of lesser capacity than a barrel, often used to store beer.

## Etymology
From Middle English kag, from Old Norse kaggi (“keg”), likely a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *kagô (“bush, branch, stalk, stump”). Cognate with Icelandic kaggi (“keg; cask”), Norwegian kagg (“keg”), Swedish kagge (“keg”), Low German kag (“vessel; craft”), Dutch kaag (“vessel; craft”). Compare also English cag and chag.
The modern form keg with /ɛ/ is due to a dialectal raising of /a///æ/ to /ɛ/ before velars (cf. fleg); the expected form is preserved in dialectal /kæɡ/, while /keɪɡ/ reflects further raising that occurred in some dialects.

## Easily confused with
- **kI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ki)
- **ky** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ky)
- **ko** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ko)
- **Ku** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ku)
- **KS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ks)
- **KT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kt)
- **kk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kk)
- **KL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kl)
- **KP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kp)
- **KJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kj)
- **KF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kf)
- **key** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-key)
- **kid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kid)
- **Kim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kim)
- **kit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kit)
- **ken** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-ken)
- **kin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kin)
- **KIA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kia)
- **KGB** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kgb)
- **KFC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/keg-vs-kfc)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/keg