| Bawson | { } n. [ OE. bawson, baucyne, badger (named from its color), OF. bauzan, bauçant, bauchant, spotted with white, pied; cf. It. balzano, F. balzan, a white-footed horse, It. balza border, trimming, fr. L. balteus belt, border, edge. Cf. Belt. ] 1. A badger. [ Obs. ] B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. A large, unwieldy person. [ Obs. ] Nares. [ 1913 Webster ] Variants: Bawsin |
| Basin | n. [ OF. bacin, F. bassin, LL. bacchinus, fr. bacca a water vessel, fr. L. bacca berry, in allusion to the round shape; or perh. fr. Celtic. Cf. Bac. ] [ 1913 Webster ] 1. A hollow vessel or dish, to hold water for washing, and for various other uses. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. The quantity contained in a basin. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. A hollow vessel, of various forms and materials, used in the arts or manufactures, as that used by glass grinders for forming concave glasses, by hatters for molding a hat into shape, etc. [ 1913 Webster ] 4. A hollow place containing water, as a pond, a dock for ships, a little bay. Pope [ 1913 Webster ] 5. (Physical Geog.) (a) A circular or oval valley, or depression of the surface of the ground, the lowest part of which is generally occupied by a lake, or traversed by a river. (b) The entire tract of country drained by a river, or sloping towards a sea or lake. [ 1913 Webster ] 6. (Geol.) An isolated or circumscribed formation, particularly where the strata dip inward, on all sides, toward a center; -- especially applied to the coal formations, called coal basins or coal fields. [ 1913 Webster ] |
