A wooden barrel or cask, particularly one used for storing or transporting goods like salted fish or other preserved foods.
From Old French and Dutch caque or kac, related to French caque (a large tub). Related to English 'cask' and other Germanic/Romance words for barrels.
Before refrigeration, caque barrels were absolutely critical—they kept salted herring and other preserved foods edible for months on sailing ships, and the barrel-maker's skill was so valued that coopers (barrel makers) were among the best-paid craftspeople in colonial America!
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