Timeline for Sink vs Basin distinction
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
13 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25, 2024 at 0:58 | comment | added | nohat | As a native speaker of American English, I would say that my intuition about "basin" matches this distinction though I wouldn't have articulated it as such. Generally, "sink" is more likely to be used in everyday contexts, whereas "basin" might be reserved for specific types or technical discussions of sinks, or for geographical features. Whether or not ordinary usage distinguishes the appliance vs. the receptacle, the key overall point is American English definitely does not make a distinction between "sink" and "basin" based on what it is used to wash. | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 22:08 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | So 'in articles by regulatory bodies such as ...' (though the Food Code admittedly gives one stipulative definition). | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 21:40 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | @EdwinAshworth It refers to regulations. The FDA food code is one such document that involves itself with sinks. Its provisions are incorporated by reference or repeated in countless federal, state, and local jurisdictions. If a reg like the Food Code uses language a certain way, it will trickle down to millions of affected people in, erm, short order. The Food Code does define "handwashing sink". | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 14:12 | comment | added | Edwin Ashworth | Does 'regulatory' refer to a legal constraint? An agreed code of naming practice? Just in the US / Alaska? | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 12:37 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | @anongoodnurse True, I was thinking of people who are necessarily precise because they have be to in order to get paid. The question was about "In technical usage, such as building, the terms would never be used interchangeably." Even among those in the building trade, "never using them interchangeably" is probably a bridge too far. | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 0:50 | comment | added | anongoodnurse | Most people in the East (US), even very fussy ones, would not describe a basin that way. A pedant intent on inflicting humiliation ,or a plumber (not the same thing) might, though. | |
| Jun 24, 2024 at 0:48 | comment | added | anongoodnurse | @terdon - Being from the northeastern US, a sink has a bowl-shaped depression and a plumbed drain. A basin doesn't, and needs to be emptied at some point. The source of water is irrelevant. You could carry water to the sink or use the faucet. | |
| Jun 23, 2024 at 15:25 | comment | added | George White | This is for Florida health care facilities | |
| Jun 23, 2024 at 13:01 | history | edited | Phil Sweet | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
moved the link to its own line
|
| Jun 23, 2024 at 12:56 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | The sink requirements are more about the mechanics of the appliance along with the dimensions and materials of the appliance itself. | |
| Jun 23, 2024 at 12:54 | comment | added | Phil Sweet | For regulatory compliance, if you purchase a compliant sink, the faucet is included with the sink. Otherwise, dimensional compliance can't be guaranteed. Backsplashes, if any, would be included because of dimensional requirements also. If you open the link in my answer, you will see how the regulations are structured; and manufacturers provide items that meet an entire section's worth of requirements. The wash station requirements are focused on useability and human interaction. It includes water temps, ergonomics for accessibility, cleanability, nonslip surfaces, wet area materials, etc. | |
| Jun 23, 2024 at 12:05 | comment | added | terdon | Wait, what!? So what else would be included by the term sink here? Are you saying that the faucet, for example, is part of the sink? So sink would be the faucet, the pipes, the handles and everything? What is it you are quoting exactly, what's the source? And does this reflect common usage? Personally, I never use basin and would refer to the concave bowl the faucet's water flows into as a sink. | |
| Jun 23, 2024 at 2:39 | history | answered | Phil Sweet | CC BY-SA 4.0 |