vessel

[ ves-uhl ]

noun

1. a craft for traveling on water, now usually one larger than an ordinary rowboat; a ship or boat.
2. an airship.
3. a hollow or concave utensil, as a cup, bowl, pitcher, or vase, used for holding liquids or other contents.
4. Anatomy, Zoology. a tube or duct, as an artery or vein, containing or conveying blood or some other body fluid.
5. Botany. a duct formed in the xylem, composed of connected cells that have lost their intervening partitions, that conducts water and mineral nutrients. Compare tracheid.
6. a person regarded as a holder or receiver of something, especially something nonmaterial:

   a vessel of grace;

   a vessel of wrath.

vessel

/ ˈvɛsəl /

noun

1. any object used as a container, esp for a liquid
2. a passenger or freight-carrying ship, boat, etc
3. an aircraft, esp an airship
4. anatomy a tubular structure that transports such body fluids as blood and lymph
5. botany a tubular element of xylem tissue consisting of a row of cells in which the connecting cell walls have broken down
6. rare.
   a person regarded as an agent or vehicle for some purpose or quality

   she was the vessel of the Lord

vessel

/ vĕs′əl /

1. A blood vessel.
2. A long, continuous column made of the lignified walls of dead vessel elements, along which water flows in the xylem of angiosperms.

Other Words From

• vesseled especially British, vesselled adjective
• un·vesseled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of vessel¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French va(i)ssel, vessel, from Latin vāscellum, from vās “vessel” ( vase ) + -cellum, diminutive suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of vessel¹

C13: from Old French vaissel, from Late Latin vascellum urn, from Latin vās vessel

Example Sentences

The DOE's Office of Science has funded separate research about some of the technologies needed to inject the spin-polarized fuel into the fusion vessel.

From Science Daily

Blood vessels stop in the skin layer located below the epidermis.

From Science Daily

It's quite conceivable that cells in the brain, blood vessels or other organs also remember obesity and contribute to the effect.

From Science Daily

“I’ve been a vessel for a lot of different things, and I am much more interested in developing my own stories,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times

And it was the ferry operator's first vessel built outside of Scotland.

From BBC

Related Words

• barge
• boat
• craft
• liner
• ocean liner
• tanker