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.

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

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 Word Forms

• vesseled adjective
• unvesseled 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

About 2.7 million people in the U.S. are thought to have mixed dementia or vascular dementia, which is caused by strokes or mini-strokes that damage blood vessels in the brain.

Read more on MarketWatch

A new preclinical study from investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine reports that hypertension disrupts blood vessels, neurons and white matter in the brain long before blood pressure rises to detectable levels.

Read more on Science Daily

The company -- the leading shipbuilder for the Dutch navy -- employs some 12,500 people and owns several shipyards across the world, constructing notably frigates, combat support vessels and maritime patrol ships.

Read more on Barron's

Healey said last week that there had been a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years.

Read more on BBC

The wet form is less common but progresses more quickly and involves abnormal blood vessel growth under the retina.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

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