kier

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse ker (whence also Icelandic ker (“tub”)).

noun

1. A bleaching vat.
   The oil is added to the saturated liquor, which is afterwards introduced into the kier. There is no change required in the bleaching operation. 1934, Harry Bennett, Two Thousand Formulas, Recipes & Trade Secrets: The Classic “Do-It-Yourself” Book of Practical Everyday Chemistry, page 265
   The traditional sequence of pre-treatment is shortened by single stage bleaching, where kiers are still in use. 1999, Samir Ranjan Karmakar, Chemical Technology In The Pre-Treatment Processes Of Textiles, Elsevier, page 65
   Inside the typically long, narrow bleaching crofts were cisterns for bleaching cotton yarn, now represented by sunken stone tanks, and sealed vats called ‘kiers’ for bleaching cloth. The kiers would have been two storeys high and made of metal, but now all that remains are the footings and brackets that show where they once stood (2004: 99). 2007, Sarah Tarlow, The Archaeology of Improvement in Britain, 1750-1850, Cambridge University Press, page 166