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Origin and history of vas

vas(n.)

in anatomy, "a tube, duct, or conduit for conveying blood, lymph, semen, etc.," Latin, literally "vessel," a word of unknown etymology. Vas deferens (plural vasa defferentia) is from 1570s.

Entries linking to vas

extravasation(n.)

"escape of fluid into the tissues after a rupture," 1670s, from Latin extra "outside" (see extra-) + form derived from vas "vessel" (see vas (n.)). Related: Extravasate (1660s).

vasectomy(n.)

operation to render a male infertile, 1896, from Modern Latin vas (deferens) + -ectomy "a cutting, surgical removal." Related: Vasectomized.

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    vessel
    c. 1300, "container," from Old French vessel "container, receptacle, barrel; ship" (12c., Modern French vaisseau) from Late Latin vascellum "small vase or urn," also "a ship," alteration of Latin vasculum, diminutive of vas "vessel." Sense of "ship, boat" is found in English from
    wed
    promise," Gothic ga-wadjon "to betroth"), from PIE root *wadh- (1) "to pledge, to redeem a pledge" (source also of Latin vas...
    us
    Old English us (cognate with Old Saxon, Old Frisian us, Old Norse, Swedish oss, Dutch ons, German uns), accusative and dative plural of we, from PIE *nes- (2), forming oblique cases of the first person plural personal pronoun (source also of Sanskrit nas, Avestan na, Hittite nash
    confederacy
    late 14c., "contract between two or more persons, states, etc., for mutual support or joint action," from Anglo-French confederacie (Old French confederacie), from stem of Latin confoederare "to unite by a league," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + foeder
    America
    1507, "the western hemisphere, North and South America," in Cartographer Martin Waldseemüller's treatise "Cosmographiae Introductio," from Modern Latin Americanus, traditionally after Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) who made two trips to the New World as a navigator and claimed to h
    shout
    c. 1300, shouten, schowten "to call or cry out loudly," a word of unknown origin; perhaps from the root of shoot (v.) on the notion of "throw the voice out loudly," or related to Old Norse skuta "a taunt" (compare scout (v.2)); both of which are reconstructed to be from PIE root
    south
    Old English suþ "southward, to or toward the south, southern, in the south," from Proto-Germanic *sunthaz, perhaps literally "sun-side" (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian suth "southward, in the south," Middle Dutch suut, Dutch zuid, German Süden), and related to base of *sun
    Dixie
    "the southern United States," 1859, of obscure origin, first attested in the song of that name, which was popularized, if not written, by Ohio-born U.S. minstrel musician and songwriter Dan Emmett (1815-1904); perhaps a reference to the Mason-Dixon Line, but there are other well-
    tube
    1610s, from French tube (15c.), from Latin tubus "tube, pipe," a word of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube by 1900 (H.D. Browne, in the "Londoner" of June 30); tube for "cylindrical railway tunnel" is attested from 1847. The meaning "TV as a mediu
    James
    masc. proper name, New Testament name of two of Christ's disciples, late 12c. Middle English vernacular form of Late Latin Jacomus (source of Old French James, Spanish Jaime, Italian Giacomo), altered from Latin Jacobus (see Jacob). The Welsh form was Iago, the Cornish Jago. Jame

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