Dictionary

cistern en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈsɪs.tɚn/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˈsɪs.tən/ (UK)

Etymology

From Middle English cisterne, from Old French cisterne (Modern French citerne) from Latin cisterna, from cista (“box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “box”). Doublet of cisterna.

Meanings

1. A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.
   • On a broad ledge near the top, we found a stone cabin. Higher up was a cistern and a few more terraces. 1989, Octavia E. Butler, “Part III, Chapter 7”, in Imago, page 211:
   • For cistern valves, they are well adapted—opening the full area upon the least descent of the ball, and are not liable to be set fast. 1847, editorial staff, “Improvement in Water Taps, Cister Valves, &c. ”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 9, page 68:
   • Cisterns (bôr, bō'r), mentioned frequently in the Bible, are artificial reservoirs, usually cut into bedrock, for collecting and conserving rain runoff from roofs and courtyards. 2001, Philip J. King, Lawrence E. Stager, chapter 3, in Life in Biblical Israel, →ISBN, page 126:
   • 1913, A.C. Cotter, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Wells in Scripture", Their extreme necessity is attested by the countless number of old, unused cisterns with which the Holy Land is literally honeycombed.
2. In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank.
   • It is possible to connect your tank to your toilet cistern and/or garden, so that even if the water is not drinkable it still can be used productively to make major water savings. 2003, Allan Windust, chapter 9, in Waterwise House & Garden: a Guide for Sustainable Living, →ISBN, page 36:
3. A shallow, typically oval, vessel made of porcelain, pottery, or glass.
4. The receptacle that holds the fuel in an oil lamp.
   • By next winter he was spending every evening poring over the work of Théodore Agrippa d'Aubigné on the French Reformation by the light of a little oil lamp, with a tiny cistern the size of an orange and no chimney[.] 1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 22:
5. A cisterna.
6. The vessel surrounding the condenser in a steam engine.

Forms

Deriveds

intracistern · cisterned · cisternless · cisternal · hog cistern · cisternography · cisternful · cerebromedullary cistern · cistern epiphyte

Synonyms

conservatory

Translations (132)

nl waterkelder (reservoir for holding water) · io aquuyo (reservoir for holding water) · it cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · he גֵּב (reservoir for holding water) · nl regenput (reservoir for holding water) · eo cisterno (reservoir for holding water) · gl alxube (reservoir for holding water) · el στέρνα (reservoir for holding water) · gu તળાવ (reservoir for holding water) · ja 水槽 (reservoir for holding water) · mk цистерна (reservoir for holding water) · nb sisterne (flush toilet's container) · de Spülkasten (flush toilet's container) · hi जलाशय (reservoir for holding water) · enm cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · la cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · kk цистерна (reservoir for holding water) · ar حَوْض (reservoir for holding water) · dlm cistierna (reservoir for holding water) · de Zisterne (reservoir for holding water) · ur حَوضْ (reservoir for holding water) · uk цисте́рна (reservoir for holding water) · pt algibe (reservoir for holding water) · gl canfurna (reservoir for holding water) · nl regenwaterput (reservoir for holding water) · tg ҳавз (reservoir for holding water) · az sistern (reservoir for holding water) · my ရေလှောင်ကန် (reservoir for holding water) · nn sisterne (flush toilet's container) · lv cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · nb sisterne (reservoir for holding water) · fr citerne (reservoir for holding water) · sc cisterra (reservoir for holding water) · th ถังเก็บน้ำ (reservoir for holding water) · gl alxibe (reservoir for holding water) · hi हौज़ (reservoir for holding water) · sc chisterra (reservoir for holding water) · da cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · ist zustierna (reservoir for holding water) · ja 貯水槽 (reservoir for holding water) · be цыстэ́рна (reservoir for holding water) · fur cistierne (reservoir for holding water) · nl regenbak (reservoir for holding water) · cy seston (reservoir for holding water) · bo ཆུ་སྒྲོམ (reservoir for holding water) · nb cisterne (flush toilet's container) · uk резервуа́р (reservoir for holding water) · ka ცისტერნა (reservoir for holding water) · be рэзэрвуа́р (reservoir for holding water) · id perigi (reservoir for holding water) · tg систерн (reservoir for holding water) · el καζανάκι (flush toilet's container) · ko 탱크 (reservoir for holding water) · ru бачо́к (flush toilet's container) · eo akvujo (reservoir for holding water) · nn sisterne (reservoir for holding water) · tr rezervuar (flush toilet's container) · ja タンク (reservoir for holding water) · sk rezervoár (reservoir for holding water) · ca cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · fi sadevesisäiliö (reservoir for holding water) · cmn 水槽 (reservoir for holding water) · hu víztartály (flush toilet's container) · ti ጋው (reservoir for holding water) · ru цисте́рна (reservoir for holding water) · grc δεξαμενή (reservoir for holding water) · ar فِنْطَاس (reservoir for holding water) · ar صِهْرِيج (reservoir for holding water) · sh цѝсте̄рна (reservoir for holding water) · th ถังน้ำ (reservoir for holding water) · mi kurawai (reservoir for holding water) · grc λάκκος (reservoir for holding water) · pt cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · sq hauz (reservoir for holding water) · hi टंकी (reservoir for holding water) · nn cisterne (flush toilet's container) · uk бак (reservoir for holding water) · fi vesisäiliö (reservoir for holding water) · frm cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · es cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · kk шанаш (reservoir for holding water) · zdj isima (reservoir for holding water) · gd amar (reservoir for holding water) · sq bot (reservoir for holding water) · ko 수조 (reservoir for holding water) · nl waterreservoir (reservoir for holding water) · sv cistern (reservoir for holding water) · be рэзервуа́р (reservoir for holding water) · scn sterna (reservoir for holding water) · tr sarnıç (reservoir for holding water) · pl cysterna (reservoir for holding water) · nb cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · bg цисте́рна (reservoir for holding water) · ky цистерна (reservoir for holding water) · hu ciszterna (reservoir for holding water) · sl cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · sco cistren (reservoir for holding water) · sh cìstērna (reservoir for holding water) · fi vesisäiliö (flush toilet's container) · el δεξαμενή (reservoir for holding water) · lt cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · grc ἔλυτρον (reservoir for holding water) · fa حوض (reservoir for holding water) · cs cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · sq cisternë (reservoir for holding water) · ru резервуа́р (reservoir for holding water) · es aljibe (reservoir for holding water) · gu ટાંકી (reservoir for holding water) · ga sistéal (reservoir for holding water) · nl stortbak (flush toilet's container) · nl cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · cy dyfrgist (reservoir for holding water) · fr chasse d'eau (flush toilet's container) · hu víztároló (reservoir for holding water) · fa سیسترن (reservoir for holding water) · uz sisterna (reservoir for holding water) · et tsistern (reservoir for holding water) · ru бак (reservoir for holding water) · ro cisternă (reservoir for holding water) · sk cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · scn jisterna (reservoir for holding water) · es cisterna (flush toilet's container) · be бак (reservoir for holding water) · th แท็งก์น้ำ (reservoir for holding water) · bg каза́нче (flush toilet's container) · bg резервоа́р (reservoir for holding water) · fi säiliö (flush toilet's container) · la lacus (reservoir for holding water) · nn cisterne (reservoir for holding water) · gl cisterna (reservoir for holding water) · sc gisterra (reservoir for holding water) · hy ցիստերն (reservoir for holding water)

wikidata: Q838858