Noun

(en noun)

A large cask; an oblong vessel bulging in the middle, like a pipe or puncheon, and girt with hoops; a wine cask.

(brewing) A fermenting vat.

An old English measure of capacity for liquids, containing 252 wine gallons; equal to two pipes.

* 1882 , James Edwin Thorold Rogers, A History of Agriculture and Prices in England , p. 205:

Again, by 28 Hen. VIII, cap. 14, it is re-enacted that the tun of wine should contain 252 gallons, a butt of Malmsey 126 gallons, a pipe 126 gallons, a tercian or puncheon 84 gallons, a hogshead 63 gallons, a tierce 41 gallons, a barrel 31.5 gallons, a rundlet 18.5 gallons.

A weight of 2,240 pounds.

An indefinite large quantity.

"He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit,

This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this, Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim Hear no more of you. " -- Shakespeare

* (rfdate) Dryden

A tun of man in thy large bulk is writ.

(archaic, humorous, or, derogatory) A drunkard.

(zoology) Any shell belonging to and allied genera; called also tun-shell.

A part of the ancient Maya Long Count Calendar system which corresponds to 18 winal cycles or 360 days.

Noun

(en noun)

(nautical) Any craft designed for transportation on water, such as a ship or boat.

* 1719 ,

But my hope was, that if I stood along this coast till I came to that part where the English traded, I should find some of their vessels upon their usual design of trade, that would relieve and take us in.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2012-03

, author=William E. Carter, Merri Sue Carter , title=The British Longitude Act Reconsidered , volume=100, issue=2, page=87 , magazine= citation , passage=Conditions were horrendous aboard most British naval vessels at the time. Scurvy and other diseases ran rampant, killing more seamen each year than all other causes combined, including combat.}}

A container of liquid, such as a glass, goblet, cup, bottle, bowl, or pitcher.

A person as a container of qualities or feelings.

* Bible, Acts ix. 15

He is a chosen vessel unto me.

* Milton

[The serpent] fit vessel , fittest imp of fraud, in whom to enter.

* Dolly Parton, The Seeker lyrics:

I am a vessel that’s empty and useless / I am a bad seed that fell by the way.

(biology) A tube or canal that carries fluid in an animal or plant.

Blood or lymph vessels''' in humans, xylem or phloem '''vessels in plants .