# piping hot

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌpaɪ.pɪŋ ˈhɒt/

## Definitions
1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see piping, hot: very hot in a way that involves sizzling, crackling, or similar noises.
2. Very hot.

## Etymology
From Middle English. First attested circa second half of 14th century, from the similarity between the sizzling sound of food cooking in a frying pan and that of musical pipes, from Canterbury Tales http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2383 by Geoffrey Chaucer:
:: "He singeth brokking¹ as a nightingale. / He sent her piment, mead, and spiced ale, / And wafers² piping hot out of the glede³: / And, for she was of town, he proffer'd meed."
:: ¹ quavering, ² cakes, ³ coals

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