vessel-bearing
|ves-sel-bear-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˈvɛsəlˌbɛrɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈvɛsəlˌbeə(r)ɪŋ/
having or carrying vessels
Etymology
'vessel-bearing' is a modern English compound formed from 'vessel' + present participle 'bearing'. 'Vessel' originates from Old French 'vaissel', from Latin 'vascellum' (a diminutive of 'vas') meaning 'container, dish'. 'Bearing' derives from Old English 'beran', meaning 'to carry'.
'vessel' comes via Old French 'vaissel' from Latin 'vascellum' and entered Middle English as 'vessel'; 'bearing' comes from Old English 'beran' and developed into the present participle 'bearing'. The compound 'vessel-bearing' is a straightforward modern English formation joining these elements to describe something that 'bears' or 'has' vessels.
Initially the components meant 'container' (for 'vessel') and 'to carry' (for 'bear'); combined, the compound has the direct, literal meaning 'having or carrying vessels'. In specialized botanical contexts it has the narrower technical sense 'having vessel elements' (as in xylem).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
having vessel elements (especially of xylem) — used in botany to describe tissues that contain true vessels.
The fossil specimen was vessel-bearing, suggesting it belonged to an angiosperm lineage.
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Adjective 2
carrying, holding, or furnished with vessels or containers (literal sense, e.g., a structure or space that contains vessels such as jars, amphorae, or ships).
The storeroom proved vessel-bearing, lined with rows of ceramic jars and amphorae.
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Last updated: 2025/10/25 21:40