cauldron

noun

Etymology: From Middle English caudroun, borrowed from Old Northern French caudron, ultimately from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), from Latin caldus (“hot”). Spelling later Latinized by having an l inserted. See chowder, caldera. The military sense is a semantic loan from German Kessel; compare English kettling.

1. A large bowl-shaped pot used for boiling over an open flame.

   “Double, double, toile and trouble; / Fire burne, and Cauldron bubble.”

   “[…] I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … […]”

2. A type of encirclement.

   “Near-synonym: kettle”

   “After having defended the constantly shrinking perimeter of their position for over two weeks, the encircled German units in the Cherkassy “cauldron” were ordered to break out.”

3. An unsettled or difficult situation or place.

   “Near-synonyms: kettle, pickle; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation”

   “a cauldron of discontent”