1. A small wooden barrel or covered vessel.
2. Any of several British units of capacity, usually equal to about ¹/₄ of a barrel or 9 gallons (34 liters).

[Middle English ferken, ferdekin, probably from Middle Dutch *verdelkijn, diminutive of veerdel, one-fourth : veerde, fourth + deel, part.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.