flask

¹ American  

[flask, flahsk] / flæsk, flɑsk /

noun

1. a bottle, usually of glass, having a rounded body and a narrow neck, used especially in laboratory experimentation.

2. a flat metal or glass bottle for carrying in the pocket.

   a flask of brandy.

3. an iron container for shipping mercury, holding a standard commercial unit of 76 pounds (34 kilograms).

4. Metallurgy. a container into which sand is rammed around a pattern to form a mold.

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flask ² American  

[flask, flahsk] / flæsk, flɑsk /

noun

Ordnance.

1. the armored plates making up the sides of a gun-carriage trail.

2. Obsolete. the bed of a gun carriage.

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flask British  

/ flɑːsk /

noun

1. a bottle with a narrow neck, esp used in a laboratory or for wine, oil, etc

2. Also called: hip flask.  a small flattened container of glass or metal designed to be carried in a pocket, esp for liquor

3. See powder flask

4. a container packed with sand to form a mould in a foundry

5. See vacuum flask

6. Also called: cask.   coffin.  engineering a container used for transporting irradiated nuclear fuel

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flask Scientific  

/ flăsk /

1. A rounded container with a long neck, used in laboratories.

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Etymology

Origin of flask¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English: “cask, keg,” from Anglo-French, Old French flaske, Late Latin flasca, earlier flascō, of uncertain origin; compare Old English flasce, flaxe, Old High German flasca ( German flasche ); flagon

Origin of flask²

1570–80; < dialectal French flasque cheek of a gun carriage < Late Latin flasca flask ¹

Related Words

• beaker
• canteen
• carafe
• chalice
• decanter
• jug
• urn
• vial