vessel means A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.; Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine.
vessel is pronounced /ˈvɛsəl/.
Why “vessel” is a great word
A hollow container for holding liquids, or a craft designed for transportation on water, in the air, or in space. From Middle English vessel, from Old French vaissel, from Late Latin vāscellum, a diminutive of Latin vāsculum ("small vessel"), itself a diminutive of vās ("vase, vessel"). First recorded in English c. 1300. Unlike "ship," which evokes grandeur and the sea, or "container," which is purely utilitarian, vessel carries a dignity of purpose that spans the sacred and the mundane. It is the clay cup waiting to be filled, the trawler riding a pre-dawn swell, and the silent craft gliding between stars—any hollow form shaped to carry a precious cargo, be it water, life, or hope, across a table or across the void.
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English vessel, vessell (“small container”); from Old French vaissel (compare modern French vaisseau and Catalan vaixell), from Late Latin vāscellum, diminutive of vāsculum, diminutive of vās (“vase, vessel”).
noun
- A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.; Any craft designed for transportation on or in water, such as a ship, boat, or submarine.
- A craft for transportation on or in water, air, or space.; A craft designed for transportation through air or space.
- Dishes and cutlery collectively, especially if made of precious metals.e.g.“All his Vessell was of golde and siluer, pottis, basons, ewers, dysshes, flagons, barels, cuppes, and all other thyngis.” — 1523, John Bourchier, translated by Jean Froissart, Here begynneth the first volum of sir Iohan Froyssart : of the cronycles of Englande, Fraunce, Spayne, Portyngale, Scotlande, Bretayne, Flauders: an
- A container of liquid or other substance, such as a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher.
- A person as a container of qualities or feelings.e.g.“A teacher should be a vessel of knowledge.”
- A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant.e.g.“Blood and lymph vessels are found in humans; xylem and phloem vessels are found in plants.”
verb
- To put into a vessel.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- watercraft 65% match — Any vessel with implements designed to move it in arbitrary direction through one or various bodies of water: a boat, ship, sea scooter, or similar vehicle. vs vessel →
- boat 62% match — A craft used for transportation of goods, fishing, racing, recreational cruising, or military use on or in the water, propelled by oars or outboard motor or inboard motor or by wind. vs vessel →
- vesselness 61% match — The condition of being a (tubular) vessel vs vessel →
- smallcraft 59% match — A small vessel. vs vessel →
- rivercraft 58% match — Any vessel that travels along a river. vs vessel →
- vial 57% match — A glass or plastic vessel or bottle, especially a small tube-shaped bottle used to store medicine, perfume or other chemicals. vs vessel →
- vasculum 56% match — A container used by botanists to store newly-collected samples. vs vessel →
- lightvessel 55% match — A vessel with a light as a navigation aid; especially, a lightship. vs vessel →