cistern

[sis-tern] /ˈsɪs tərn/
noun
1.
a reservoir, tank, or container for storing or holding water or other liquid.
2.
Anatomy. a reservoir or receptacle of some natural fluid of the body.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English cistern(e) < Latin cisterna, equivalent to cist(a) (see cist1) + -erna noun suffix
Examples from the web for cistern
  • Indeed, since the citadel collapsed into a natural underground cistern.
  • It flushes with two litres of water, compared with the ten litres required by a standard cistern toilet.
  • If you don't have a dual flush toilet put a brick into the cistern to reduce capacity.
  • The cistern was built more than a thousand years ago with pieces of already-ancient temples and churches.
  • If you don't have a swimming pool, you could install a cistern or rain barrels.
  • We built a big cistern, and water runs off the roof into a trough into the cistern.
  • Holding sewage in a cistern is simply allowing for mutations to occur, and adds health risks.
  • The water arrived from a distant spring in wooden pipes on stone piers to the manor's cistern house.
  • Its original cistern now serves as a pedestal for a fountain.
  • The runoff from the rain gutters will be plumbed to my cistern.
British Dictionary definitions for cistern

cistern

/ˈsɪstən/
noun
1.
a tank for the storage of water, esp on or within the roof of a house or connected to a WC
2.
an underground reservoir for the storage of a liquid, esp rainwater
3.
(anatomy) another name for cisterna
Derived Forms
cisternal (sɪˈstɜːnəl) adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French cisterne, from Latin cisterna underground tank, from cista box
Word Origin and History for cistern
n.

mid-13c., from Old French cisterne "cistern; dungeon, underground prison" (12c., Modern French citerne), from Latin cisterna "underground reservoir for water," from cista "chest, box," from Greek kiste "box, chest" (see chest).

cistern in Medicine

cistern cis·tern (sĭs'tərn)
n.
A cisterna.

cistern in the Bible

the rendering of a Hebrew word _bor_, which means a receptacle for water conveyed to it; distinguished from _beer_, which denotes a place where water rises on the spot (Jer. 2:13; Prov. 5:15; Isa. 36:16), a fountain. Cisterns are frequently mentioned in Scripture. The scarcity of springs in Palestine made it necessary to collect rain-water in reservoirs and cisterns (Num. 21:22). (See WELL.) Empty cisterns were sometimes used as prisons (Jer. 38:6; Lam. 3:53; Ps. 40:2; 69:15). The "pit" into which Joseph was cast (Gen. 37:24) was a _beer_ or dry well. There are numerous remains of ancient cisterns in all parts of Palestine.