basin
Pronunciation: /ˈbeɪs(ə)n/
noun
- 1chiefly British a bowl for washing, typically attached to a wall and having taps connected to a water supply; a washbasin.
- 2a wide open container used for preparing food or for holding liquid: she poured water from the jug into the basin
- 3a circular or oval valley or natural depression on the earth’s surface, especially one containing water: the loch is cupped in a shallow basin among low hills
- the tract of country drained by a river and its tributaries, or which drains into a lake or sea: the Amazon basin
- an enclosed area of water where boats can be moored: the gravel pit is to be used as a yacht basin
- Geology a circumscribed rock formation where the strata dip towards the centre.
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French bacin, from medieval Latin bacinus, from bacca 'water container', perhaps of Gaulish origin