n. A small, pewter dish that colonial Americans ate their porridge from.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A porridge dish; esp., a bowl or cup from which children eat or are fed.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. Originally, a porridge-dish; hence, a small vessel deeper than a plate or saucer, usually having upright sides, a nearly flat bottom, and one or two ears.
n. A head-dress shaped like a porringer: so called in jest.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a shallow metal bowl (usually with a handle)
Word Usage
"It should be stated that the word porringer, as used by English collectors, usually refers to a deep cup with a cover and two handles, while what we call porringers are known to these collectors as bleeding-basins or tasters."