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basins

 [bey-suhn]   Origin

ba·sin

   [bey-suhn]
noun
1.
a circular container with a greater width than depth, becoming smaller toward the bottom, used chiefly to hold water or other liquid, especially for washing.
2.
any container of similar shape, as the pan of a balance.
3.
the quantity held by such a container: We need another basin of water to dilute the mixture.
4.
a natural or artificial hollow place containing water.
5.
a partially enclosed, sheltered area along a shore, often partly man-made or dredged to a greater depth, where boats may be moored: a yacht basin.
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6.
Geology. an area in which the strata dip from the margins toward a common center.
7.
Physical Geography.
a.
a hollow or depression in the earth's surface, wholly or partly surrounded by higher land: river basin.
b.
drainage basin.
8.
Botany. the depression in an apple, pear, or other pome at the end opposite the stem.
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Origin:
1175–1225; Middle English bacin < Old French < Late Latin bac(c)īnum (bacc(a) water vessel, back3 + -īnum -ine1); perhaps further related in Latin to beaker

Related forms
ba·sin·al, adjective
ba·sined, adjective
ba·sin·like, adjective
in·ter·ba·sin, adjective
sub·ba·sin, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Basins is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

basin
early 13c., from O.Fr. bacin (11c., Mod.Fr. bassin), from V.L. *baccinum, from *bacca "water vessel," perhaps originally Gaulish. Meaning "large-scale artificial water-holding landscape feature" is from 1712. Geological sense of "tract of country drained by one river or draining into one sea" is from
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1830.
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
basin   (bā'sĭn)  Pronunciation Key 

  1. A region drained by a river and its tributaries.

  2. A low-lying area on the Earth's surface in which thick layers of sediment have accumulated. Some basins are bowl-shaped while others are elongate. Basins form through tectonic processes, especially in fault-bordered intermontane areas or in areas where the Earth's crust has warped downwards. They are often a source of valuable oil.

  3. An artificially enclosed area of a river or harbor designed so that the water level remains unaffected by tidal changes.


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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