basin

noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French bacin, from Late Latin bacchinon Date: 13th century 1. a. an open usually circular vessel with sloping or curving sides used typically for holding water for washing b. chiefly British a bowl used especially in cooking c. the quantity contained in a basin 2. a. a dock built in a tidal river or harbor b. an enclosed or partly enclosed water area 3. a. a large or small depression in the surface of the land or in the ocean floor b. the entire tract of country drained by a river and its tributaries c. a great depression in the surface of the lithosphere occupied by an ocean 4. a broad area of the earth beneath which the strata dip usually from the sides toward the center • basinal adjective • basined adjective • basinful noun