basinn.
/ˈbeɪs(ə)n/ I. A hollow circular vessel.† 4. plural. Hollow metal dishes clashed together to produce sound; ? cymbals. The beating of metal basins was formerly part of the mocking accompaniment when infamous persons were condemned to be publicly carted. Obsolete.† 7. Physiology.
1.
a. A circular vessel of greater width than depth, with sloping or curving sides, used for holding water and other liquids, especially for washing purposes. barber's basin: see barber n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > open vessels for liquids > [noun] > basin
basinc1220
laverc1394
stockc1450
pelvis1727
p'an1904
c1220 St. Marher. 9 His twa ehnen..brad as bascins.
c1330 Florice & Bl. 550 Water and cloth and bacyn For to wasschen his hondes in.
1486 Bk. St. Albans B v a Put it in a bassien of brasse.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy vii. 3169 Bassons of bright gold.
c1600 Diurnal of Remarkable Occurrents (1833) 103 The basing and the lawar.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) ii. i. 344 Basons and ewers to laue her dainty hands. View more context for this quotation
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) iv. 1613 Faire water in a basen.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. xxii. 75 His pole with pewter basons hung.
1794 G. Adams Lect. Nat. & Exper. Philos. I. ii. 37 A barometer..immersed in a bason of mercury.
1839 G. M. Bussey Forster's Arabian Nights' Entertainm. (new ed.) I. 192/1 The slave brought a basin and water; the prince then washed himself.
b. The quantity held by a basin; a basinful.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills a receptacle > basin
basinful1799
basin1834
1834 H. Martineau Farrers of Budge-Row vii. 127 [She] made a basin of tea.
1885 N.E.D. at Basin Mod. A basin of soup on a cold day.
2. A similar circular dish for any purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > bowl
bowlc1000
basin1525
bakkie1893
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > shallow vessel or dish > central part
basin1662
well1937
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cxvi. f. cxxxi/1 His bedde was wont to be chafed with a bason with hote coles.
1662 Bk. Common Prayer Commun. Shall receive the Alms for the Poor..in a decent bason.
a1704 T. Brown Ess. Satire Ancients in Wks. (1730) I. 14 Satura Lanx was properly a bason filled with all sorts of fruit.
1777 J. Richardson Diss. Eastern Nations 26 Four large basons filled with gold and silver.
3. The scale-dish of a balance.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > equipment for weighing > [noun] > a weighing apparatus > a balance > scale of a balance
balance1388
weigh-scalea1400
basin1413
scalec1440
shell15..
scale-pan1830
1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle (1859) i. xvi. 18 Lete hym put it in the ryȝt bacyn of the balaunce.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Basons of a Balance, two Pieces of Brass,..the one to hold the Weight, the other the thing to be weigh'd.
1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 292 The boards or basins are suspended by means of hooks to the ends of the beam.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > [noun] > cymbal
cymbalc825
chimea1300
chime-bellc1300
basinsa1350
target1696
zill1754
cymbalon1824
finger cymbal1845
crash cymbal1927
choke-cymbal1934
sock cymbal1936
sizzle cymbal1944
top cymbal1948
ride1956
splash cymbal1961
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 10 (MED) Þe flemmysche..agynneþ to clynken huere basyns of bras.
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. vi. 133 Forto rescowe þe moone [in eclipses] þei betyn hire basines wiþ þikke strokes.
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iii. v, in Wks. I. 560 Let there be no baud carted that yeare, to employ a bason of his. View more context for this quotation
1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore v. ii. 434 Why before her does the Bason ring?
5. spec. A concave tool used by glass-grinders in the manufacture of convex glasses.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > glass-making equipment > [noun] > other equipment
ladle1483
frache1662
paddle1662
strocals1662
basin1728
setting-board1825
cuvette1832
sabre1832
fly-frame1835
chair1845
snapdragon1869
sand-blast1871
parallelometer1887
chevalet1890
harbour1891
hearth1898
frigger1923
drawbar1926
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited word) Various kinds of Basons, of Copper, Iron, &c...some deeper, others shallower, according to the Focus of the Glasses to be ground.
6. A helmet; a basinet n. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1300 K. Alis. 2333 So he tok his basyn, That hit clevyd into the chyn.
c1325 Coeur de L. 2557 Some he hytte on the bacyn, That he cleff hym to the chyn.
a. The pelvis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > bony support for limbs > pelvis > [noun]
pelvis1615
basin1761
1761 T. Brady in Philos. Trans. 1760 (Royal Soc.) 51 660 A bone found in the pelvis or bason of a man.
1771 Gen. Chirurg. Dict. sig. Ccv, in J. Sparrow tr. H. F. Le Dran Observ. Surg. (ed. 4) The Pelvis, or Bason of the Kidnies.
b. A funnel-shaped cavity situated between the anterior ventricles of the brain. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > nervous system > cerebrospinal axis > brain > parts of brain > [noun] > ventricles > partition between
septum lucidum1698
basin1728
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Bason,..is a round Cavity in form of a Tunnel, situate between the anterior Ventricles of the Brain.
II. A hollow depression, natural or artificial.
8. A hollow receptacle, natural or artificial, containing water. spec. a submarine hollow or cavity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > containing water
pan1494
peat pota1500
waterhole1688
basin1712
tinaja1835
swag1848
water pocket1863
rock hole1869
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > region of sea or ocean > [noun] > sea bed > trench or cavity in
alveus1670
basin1881
trench1903
foredeep1909
oceanic trench1945
ocean trench1956
1712 R. Blackmore Creation i. 45 And from its ample Basin cast the Main.
1764 T. Harmer Observ. Passages Script. x. viii. 327 Their waters being conveyed by acqueducts into two very large basons.
1800 W. Wordsworth in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads II. 72 And in a bason black and small Receives a lofty Waterfall.
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands viii. 213 Inland basins of rain-water.
1881 J. F. Williams Geogr. Oceans iii. i. 142 The eastern and north-western basins have average depths of 2,500 and 3,000 fathoms respectively.
1904 A. Knox Gloss. Geogr. & Topogr. Terms 37 Basin,..used, in sub-oceanic relief, for a depression of approximately round form.
9.
a. A dock constructed in a tidal river or harbour, in which by means of flood-gates the water is kept at a constant level, used for ships discharging or lading cargo, or when laid up.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > harbour or port > [noun] > dock
dock1486
basin1709
float1840
pen1917
1709 London Gaz. No. 4510/5 A great Fleet of Merchant Ships..have contracted with the Officers of his Majesty's Customs to open their way into the great Basin of this City.
1815 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) XII. 265 A wet dock or basin of considerable size and depth may be considered nessesary for the trade of Antwerp.
b. Part of a river or canal widened and furnished with wharfs for the lading and unlading of barges.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > harbour or port > [noun] > basin in river or canal
basin1837
gare1869
1837 N. Whittock et al. Compl. Bk. Trades (1842) 203 Basins are formed near towns to which the canal has a communication.
10. A land-locked harbour; a bay.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > harbour or port > [noun] > types of
creek1478
mole1545
haveneta1552
havenleta1552
portlet1577
seaport1596
close-harbour1615
basin1725
close port1728
entry port1838
port of call1838
way port1846
tidal basin1858
tidal harbour1859
port of register1860
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey II. vi. 315 The spacious basons arching rocks enclose.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xxxi. 191 The largest vessels securely rode at anchor within three deep and capacious basons.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 226 His army..was encamped round the basin of La Hogue.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Yankee in Canada (1866) ii. 20 The harbor of Quebec..a basin two miles across.
11. Physical Geography. The tract of country drained by a river and its tributaries, or which drains into a particular lake or sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > land near river > [noun] > catchment area
valleyc1790
basin1804
river basin1824
watershed1839
catchment1844
catchment basin1844
drainage1866
gathering-ground1877
drainage-basin1882
catchment area2001
1792 A. Young Trav. France 289 Modern French geographers..have divided the kingdom into what they call bassins..into several great plains, through which flow the principal rivers.]
1804 C. B. Brown tr. C. F. de Volney View Soil & Climate U.S.A. 67 Their basins, the vallies which supply them, are of a greater elevation.
1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 434 The hydrographical basin of the Thames.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) v. §270 The basin of the Amazon is usually computed at 1,512,000 square miles.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) xii. §534 The basin of the Dead Sea..and the other inland basins of Asia.
12. gen. A circular or oval valley or hollow.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > large hollow or basin
hollow1553
howe1584
lake-basin1833
bolson1838
basinc1854
terr-oceanic basin1859
bowl1860
torsion-basin1899
cuvette1907
foredeep1909
c1854 A. P. Stanley Sinai & Palestine v. 243 The traveller finds himself in a wide basin, encircled by hills.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. §23. 166 The basin had been scooped by glaciers.
13. Geology. A circumscribed formation in which the strata dip inward from all sides to the centre; the stratified deposit, especially of coal, lying in such a depression.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > fold or dip > [noun] > depression or basin
basin1821
1821 Abridgem. R. Turner's Arts. & Sc. 230 What is called a coal-field, or district, or sometimes a coal-basin.
1850 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. Gloss. 776 Basin of Paris, Basin of London. Deposits lying in a hollow or trough, formed of older rocks.
1877 A. H. Green Geol. for Students: Physical Geol. (ed. 2) ix. §3. 347 If the beds dip everywhere towards a centre, they..form a basin.
14. Horticulture. The depression at the apex of a pomaceous fruit, in which is situated the calyx or eye.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > [noun] > parts of > remains of calyx or eye
crown?a1475
eye1587
stool1672
nose1718
basin1909
1909 in Cent. Dict. Suppl.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a.
basin-pan n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [noun] > broad, shallow vessel or pan > specific
stander1459
start pan1459
basin-pan1462
fire pan1558
tin pan1806
1462 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1855) II. 261 Wirt-pannes, basyn-pan.
basin-shaped adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > [adjective] > concave > like specific object
camois1664
pouch-likea1676
scaphoidal1681
spoon-likea1686
umbilicated1693
umbilicate1698
saucer-shaped1753
boat-shaped1760
pouchy1786
cupped1796
urn-shaped1796
naviform1816
spoon-shaped1817
urn-like1826
vase-shaped1832
bag-shaped1836
basin-like1836
trough-like1839
urceiform1840
vase-like1840
saucered1847
bag-like1849
sac-like1849
pouch-shaped1854
basin-shaped1859
trough-shaped1871
bucketed1886
spooned1890
1859 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. V. 146/2 The pelvis offers a basin-shaped structure.
basin-sign n.
ΚΠ
?1620 S. Rowlands Paire of Spy-knaues B iij b First to my Barber, at his Bason signe.
basin-stand n.
ΚΠ
1842 T. Martin in Fraser's Mag. Dec. Ducking and diving into the basin-stand.
b.
basin-like adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > curved surface > [adjective] > concave > like specific object
camois1664
pouch-likea1676
scaphoidal1681
spoon-likea1686
umbilicated1693
umbilicate1698
saucer-shaped1753
boat-shaped1760
pouchy1786
cupped1796
urn-shaped1796
naviform1816
spoon-shaped1817
urn-like1826
vase-shaped1832
bag-shaped1836
basin-like1836
trough-like1839
urceiform1840
vase-like1840
saucered1847
bag-like1849
sac-like1849
pouch-shaped1854
basin-shaped1859
trough-shaped1871
bucketed1886
spooned1890
1836–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. II. 134/2 A horny basin-like cavity.
C2.
basinful n. the content of a basin; also transferred an excessive amount, (more than) enough (slang).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > amount defined by capacity > [noun] > amount that fills a receptacle > basin
basinful1799
basin1834
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity > excessive quantity or amount
overchargea1325
outrakea1400
surcharge1603
superflux1608
overquantitya1626
overflux1633
gluta1652
overdose1700
excresce1707
overseta1715
embarras de richesse1750
sickener1809
embarras de choix1825
richesse1875
basinful1935
1799 tr. Laboratory (ed. 6) I. xiv. 434 Take..two basonfuls of river sand.
1935 ‘G. Ingram’ Cockney Cavalcade 136 My mother's had a ‘basinful’, if anyone has, I can tell you.
1957 ‘J. Wyndham’ Midwich Cuckoos iii. 24 That there Miss Ogle ain't 'alf goin' to cop 'erself a basinful of 'Er Majesty's displeasure over this little lot.
1960 News Chron. 27 June 4/8 I've had a basinful of bowler-hat and furled-umbrella parts.
basin irrigation n. (see quot. 1961).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > irrigation > [noun]
field pondage1612
pondage1612
irrigation1626
floating-trench1649
masterwork1652
floating1669
catchwork1794
warping1799
watering1799
basin irrigation1903
sprinkler irrigation1908
sprinkling irrigation1910
spray irrigation1931
spray line1961
trickle irrigation1969
chemigation1981
1903 Westm. Gaz. 29 Sept. 1/3 The old basin irrigation will be transformed into a perennial system.
1961 L. D. Stamp Gloss. Geogr. Terms 54/2 Basin irrigation: the type of irrigation associated especially with the Nile in Egypt and the Sudan whereby flood waters are led off into specially prepared ‘basins’ which vary in size from a few dozen acres to many square miles. The basins are separated from one another by earth banks.
basin-wide adj. as wide as a basin (cf. saucer-eyed adj. at saucer n. and adj. Compounds 3).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > [adjective] > having great breadth or width
broadOE
wideOE
largec1300
straight?a1366
spacious1506
basin-wide1591
late1597
broad-backed1651
1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 670 Then gan the Courtiers..stare on him, with big lookes basen wide.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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