Home appliances are a staple of the modern kitchen. The oven is one such appliance that has been around for quite a while, so why do they call it an oven? Why not “a stove” or “an oven?” There are many theories as to why the word ‘oven’ was chosen and what it means, but we will go over two of them here.
The first theory comes from the Latin word ‘obnivis.’ This translates to mean something like “furnace” or “hearth.” It is likely that this term was used because early furnaces were often enclosed in brick buildings with chimneys which would have created natural drafts. This, in turn, would have created a lot of heat for metal forging and cooking.
The second theory is that the word “oven” may derive from an old Norse word ‘uf,’ meaning “to dry.” This term seemed to be used because it was common practice to line clay or stone pots with hot stones which could then absorb moisture as they cooled down. These dried out pots would keep food warm longer than other containers made of animal skin (ex. leather) or wood (ex. bark). It seems likely that this gave way to more modern usage where we use the same kind of heated container today- just on a much larger scale! Ideally, these two theories shed some light onto why many people continue to use the word oven to refer to what is now known as a stove.
How Ovens Work
Even though it has come to mean something different altogether, some people may still be curious why this appliance bears an odd name! There are two main theories as to how the term “oven” came about- one is that its roots might stem from words like ‘uf,’ which means ‘to dry’ and was used because of common practice back in ancient times where clay or stone pots were lined with hot stones that could then absorb moisture when they cooled down. This made for good containers for keeping food warm longer than other types of containers (ex., animal skin). The modern usage would be very similar, only on a much larger scale! Ideally these two theories are plausible and no one can say for certain which is true.
The word “oven” to refer to what is now known as a stove. Even though it has come to mean something different altogether, some people may still be curious why this appliance bears an odd name! There are two main theories as to how the term “oven” came about- one is that its roots might stem from words like ‘uf,’ which means ‘to dry’ and was used because of common practice back in ancient times where clay or stone pots were lined with hot stones that could then absorb moisture when they cooled down. This made for good containers for keeping food warm longer than other types of containers (ex., animal skin). The modern usage would have come about centuries later when the word “uf” was just shortened to be spelled as a single letter, ‘o.’
When it comes to why we call them ovens instead of stoves or warmers, there are two main theories- one is that ‘oven’ might have been derived from words like ‘ovus,’ which means ‘to cook eggs’ and could also refer to cooking in general. The other theory states that these pots were actually used for baking bread because they would get much hotter than the previous type of stove before so this specific term came into use for describing what happens with food inside by design (rather than accidental).
