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Glite Dictionary
tea urn

tea urn

3.3
A large metal container that holds and serves hot tea at gatherings
  • noun
  • /ti ɜrn/
translation icon : urna de té
  • At the church event, volunteers filled cups from the steaming tea urn throughout the afternoon.

Examples

  • Please remember to clean the tea urn after the meeting, as it is used by everyone.

  • The volunteers set up a tea urn in the garden to serve hot drinks during the outdoor event.

  • A traditional British afternoon tea often features a large silver tea urn at the center of the table.

  • The tea urn was filled with hot water.

  • I bought a new tea urn for the party.

  • At the gathering, the tea urn was filled with freshly brewed tea for the guests.

  • He carefully poured the tea from the tea urn into the delicate cups for everyone.

Synonyms

urn
vstea urn
7 2.9

A large metal container with a tap for serving hot drinks

is specifically for brewing and serving one kind of hot beverage at gatherings

How Large

urn
7 2.9
samovar
5 9.9
tea urn
3.3
teapot
34 1.0

Surface Forms

tea urn singular
tea urns plural

Morphology

tea + urn

The meaning 'a large container for serving tea' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'tea' (the drink) with 'urn' (a large spigot-equipped serving container). This kind of compound noun is compositional and common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Tea urn comes from a simple picture: a big metal urn or pot with a spout used to hold and pour hot tea for many people at parties or meetings. So, the term now means 'a large container used to make and serve tea'.