Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An open container, as of glass or porcelain, used for holding flowers or for ornamentation.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A hollow vessel, generally high in proportion to its horizontal diameter, and decorative in character and purpose.
  • noun Hence An object designed usually for ornament, but sometimes for other specific purposes, having somewhat the form and appearance of the vessel in the primary sense.
  • noun The body of the Corinthian and Composite capital: sometimes called tambour or drum.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A vessel adapted for various domestic purposes, and anciently for sacrificial uses; especially, a vessel of antique or elegant pattern used for ornament; See Illust. of Portland vase, under Portland.
  • noun A vessel similar to that described in the first definition above, or the representation of one in a solid block of stone, or the like, used for an ornament, as on a terrace or in a garden. See Illust. of Niche.
  • noun The body, or naked ground, of the Corinthian and Composite capital; -- called also tambour, and drum.
  • noun (Bot.) The calyx of a plant.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A container used mainly for displaying fresh, dried, or artificial flowers.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an open jar of glass or porcelain used as an ornament or to hold flowers

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Latin vās, vessel.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French vase, from Latin vas

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Examples

  • Made out of white porcelain, the vase is absolutely waterproof and attaches to the wall by means of two screws – or nails – whatever you prefer.

    Waterproof Porcelain Vase by Maxim Velčovsk 2009

  • But I hold that a flower cut from its plant and placed in a vase is as a scalp on the walls of a wigwam.

    A Woman's Hardy Garden 1903

  • For those who know French, they will know that the French word "vase" (from Tim's list) also means "a container" in which one puts flowers, just like in English.

    faux amis - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • The PC-in – a-vase is embedded with a pretty good system configuration: with an Intel Atom 230 processor, including NVIDA ION graphics, a 2. 5-inch HDD, 1GB of RAM and a Blu-Ray drive that opens up.

    Teardrop Vase 2009

  • His latest “Waterproof” porcelain vase that is shaped like one of those rubber boots you use when it rains.

    Factory Vase 2009

  • From ear to ear the vase is 14″ (36 cm) wide and it is 8″ (21 cm) high and extends 8 (21 cm) from the wall.

    Waterproof Porcelain Vase by Maxim Velčovsk 2009

  • I think your Polaroid Flower vase is beautifully clean and minimal.

    Two-piece Flower Vase in the Shape of a Whale 2009

  • This huge vase is now positioned towards the corner front window of the restaurant.

    NJ Dining: Chengdu 1 (UPDATED August 2009) 2009

  • The plant in the roof tile vase is Ruscus aculeatus, or butcher's broom.

    façonner - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • The star lot will be an exquisitely minimalist, grayish-blue glazed vase from the southern Song dynasty (1127-1279).

    Asian Art Soars in London Margaret Studer 2010

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