vessel

English Online Dictionary. What means vessel‎? What does vessel mean?

English

Alternative forms

• vessell (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English vessel, vessell, from Old French vaissel (compare modern French vaisseau and Catalan vaixell), from Late Latin vāscellum, diminutive of vāsculum, diminutive of vās (“vase, vessel”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛs.əl/, /ˈvɛs.l̩/
• Rhymes: -ɛsəl

Noun

vessel (plural vessels)

1. (nautical) Any craft designed for transportation on water, such as a ship or boat. [From c.1300]

   Hyponyms: ship, boat, barge, raft, canoe, kayak
2. A craft designed for transportation through air or space. [From 1915]

   Hyponyms: spaceship, ship
3. (uncountable, obsolete or dialectal) Dishes and cutlery collectively, especially if made of precious metals. [c.1300–c.1600]
4. A container of liquid or other substance, such as a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher. [From c.1300]
5. A person as a container of qualities or feelings. [From 1382]
   • 1975, Dolly Parton, The Seeker lyrics:

     I am a vessel that’s empty and useless / I am a bad seed that fell by the way.

6. (biology) A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant. [From 1398]

   Hyponyms: blood vessel, lymph vessel

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:vessel

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

vessel (third-person singular simple present vessels, present participle vesselling or (US) vesseling, simple past and past participle vesselled or (US) vesseled)

1. (transitive) To put into a vessel.
   • 1577, William Harrison, The Description of England in Holinshed’s Chronicles, Volume 1, Book 3, Chapter 12 “Of venemous beastes &c.,”^[2]

     Our hony alſo is taken and reputed to be the beſt bycauſe it is harder, better wrought & clenlyer veſſelled vp, thẽ that which cõmeth from beyond the ſea, where they ſtampe and ſtraine their combes, Bées, & young Blow|inges altogither into the ſtuffe, as I haue béene informed.

   • 1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva Sylvarum: or, A Naturall Historie, London: W. Lee, Cent. VI, section 529, p. 137,^[3]

     The fourth Rule ſhall be, to marke what Herbs, ſome Earths doe put fourth of themſelves; And to take that Earth, and to Pot it, or to Veſſell it; And in that to ſet the Seed you would change […]

   • 2009, Reaper (TV series), 2nd season, episode known as The Home Stretch:

     [Samuel 'Sam' Oliver:] Alright (or: All right), so the Devil didn't say that the winner was the one who vesseled (or: vesselled) him, just the one who sends him back to hell.

References

• “vessel” in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, 1974 edition.

Anagrams

• -selves, selves

Middle English

Alternative forms

• vescel, vessell, fessell, vessall, vesel, vessayle, fessel, wessell, ffessell

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French vaissel, vessel, from Late Latin vāscellum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛsɛl/, /ˈvɛsəl/

Noun

vessel (plural vessels or vessel)

1. A container or vessel; a box for storage:
   1. A vessel; any open container used in the kitchen:
      1. (by extension) A decorative container; a vase used for adornment.
      2. (by extension) A piece of cookware; a container used for cooking.
      3. (by extension) Any sort of kitchen tool or utensil.
   2. A container used for the storage of medicines; a pharmaceutical container.
   3. Any object, especially a container, used in religious ceremonies or rituals.
   4. A large container or vat used for bulk storage.
   5. (alchemy) Alchemical equipment, ware, or tools.
   6. Traveling equipment; travel gear.
2. In several anatomical senses:
   1. (figurative) A human being or the body of a human being.
   2. Blood vessels; the tubes that blood travels in.
   3. Any sort of tube, duct or canal in the body (e.g. the intestines)
   4. (figurative, rare) The heart (as the seat of feelings).
3. A seafaring vessel; a boat or ship.
4. (mainly Biblical) A machine, device, or method.

Derived terms

• vesselling
• vesselment

Descendants

• English: vessel
• Scots: veshel
• Yola: veseal

References

• “vessel, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-20.