- coal fields
- Basin Ba"sin, 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]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
