A Boiler Usually Does Not Boil
A boiler heats water for heating or power. Most domestic boilers deliberately keep the water below boiling point.
A boiler is a vessel that heats water for heating, hot water or power. The name misleads: a domestic central heating boiler holds water at around seventy degrees, well short of boiling, because boiling would create steam pressure the system is not designed for. Only industrial steam boilers actually boil.
- A water-heating vessel. *A gas boiler.*
- A steam generator. *A locomotive boiler.*
- Boiler suit — a one-piece work garment. *In a boiler suit.*
- Boilerplate — standard text. *Contract boilerplate.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | boiler | A combi boiler. |
| Plural | boilers | Two boilers. |
| Verb | boil | Boil the kettle. |
| Compound | boiler room | Down in the boiler room. |
| Compound | boilerplate | Legal boilerplate. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The boiler needs servicing.Domestic heating.
- The contract is mostly boilerplate.Standard clauses.
- He wore a boiler suit.One-piece overalls.
Where *boilerplate* comes from
- Steel plate — the thick plate used to build steam boilers
- Printing — syndicated text arrived at newspapers on ready-made metal plates
- The nickname — printers called those plates boilerplate
- Law — standard clauses reused unchanged in contracts
- Software — repetitive code that must be written to get started
From *boil*, from Old French *boillir*, from Latin *bullire*, to bubble — the same root as *bull* in *ebullient*.
Does a central heating boiler boil water?
No. It usually runs around seventy degrees. Boiling would create steam and pressure the system is not built for.
Why is standard text called boilerplate?
Because syndicated newspaper content arrived on ready-made printing plates that printers likened to boiler steel.