[ves.sel] n [ME, fr. MF vaissel, fr. LL vascellum, dim. of L vas vase, vessel] (14c) 1 a: a container (as a hogshead, bottle, kettle, cup, or bowl) for holding something b: a person into whom some quality (as grace) is infused "a child of light, a true ~ of the Lord --H. J. Laski"
2: a watercraft bigger than a rowboat; esp: ship 1 3 a: a tube or canal (as an artery) in which a body fluid is contained and conveyed or circulated b: a conducting tube in the xylem of a vascular plant formed by the fusion and loss of end walls of a series of cells