vas
noun
a vessel or duct.
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vas
1 American
[vas]
/ væs /
noun
Anatomy, Zoology, Botany.
-
vasa
plural
vas-
2
American
vas-
1
British
combining form
vas
2
British
/ væs /
noun
Usage
What does vas- mean? Vas- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “vessel,” typically referring to blood vessels, such as veins and arteries. It is often used in medical terms, especially in anatomy. In some instances, vas- specifically refers to the vas deferens, the duct that carries sperm to the penis. Vas- is a variant of vaso-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use vaso- article. Vas- comes from the Latin vās, meaning “vessel.” The Latin vās is also the source of the word vase, which is, after all, a type of vessel—often for flowers! And the diminutive form of vās is vāsculum, literally “little vessel”; it’s the source of the word vascular, commonly encountered in cardiovascular. Learn more about cardio- at our Words That Use cardio- and Words That Use cardi- articles.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of vas
First recorded in 1645–55, vas is from the Latin word vās vessel
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For this investigation, the researchers from the Institute of Agricultural Sciences used samples of testicles, epididymis and vas deferens from 118 freshly slaughtered bulls of reproductive age.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 16, 2024
A vasectomy blocks the vas deferens, the tubes that are the highway for sperm between the testes and penis.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 2, 2023
Another nonhormonal method involves reversibly blocking the vas deferens, an organ that transports sperm for ejaculation.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 13, 2022
During a vasectomy, a section of the vas deferens is removed, preventing sperm from being passed out of the body during ejaculation and preventing fertilization.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Half the hamper vas home-canned fruit: tomatoes and pickled peaches.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
During pregnancy, Hayley was diagnosed with vasa previa, a dangerous condition in which the blood vessels from the placenta or umbilical cord block the birth canal.
From BBC ● Feb. 16, 2024
But four of the five greater vasa parrots that used the tools and ingested the calcium were males.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 15, 2015
Now consider what is happening in the adjacent capillaries, the vasa recta.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
Movement of water from the glomerulus is primarily due to pressure, whereas that of peritubular capillaries and vasa recta is due to osmolarity and concentration gradients.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
In some bristle-tails and may-flies, the two vasa deferentia open separately, but usually they lead into a sperm-reservoir, whence issues a median ejaculatory duet.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 "Hero" to "Hindu Chronology" by Various
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