basin English · revision 7974

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1200|origins=la-lat bacchinon}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbeɪsɪn/, /-ən/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English bacin, [[bor|fro|bacin]] (modern bassin),^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from Late Latin [[m|la-lat|bacchinon]], bacinus, a wooden vessel used by the Gauls according to Gregory of Tours,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) perhaps from Vulgar Latin *bacca, water vessel,^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) which may be of Gaulish or non-Indo-European origin.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The OED dismisses the proposed Celtic cognates on grounds of sense.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A wide, shallow vessel for water: about 1200 in Barnhart and Etymonline,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) about 1220 in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Cymbals were basins from about 1302,^(OED 1989) and the scale-dish of a balance from 1413.^(OED 1989) A large artificial ornamental pool is from 1712,^(Etymonline) and a harbour enclosure where water stays level is a later sense.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) The tract of land drained by a river, a river basin, is from 1830.^(Etymonline) The verb is from 1742.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – a vessel.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1302 – cymbals.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1712 – an ornamental pool.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1742 – the verb.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1830 – a river basin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A round, open container for holding [[liquid|alt=liquids]], or the amount it holds.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A washbasin or sink.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sheltered area of water where boats can moor; a dock.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The area drained by a [[river]] and its tributaries.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[basinal]]

+ * [[basined]]

+ * [[basinful]]

+ * [[basinlike]]

+ * [[bassinet]]

+ * [[washbasin]]

+ * [[interbasin]]

+ * [[subbasin]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}