vas

a. [ L. vasculum a small vessel, dim. of vas vessel: cf. F. vasculaire. See Vase, and cf. Vessel. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Biol.) (a) Consisting of, or containing, vessels as an essential part of a structure; full of vessels; specifically (Bot.), pertaining to, or containing, special ducts, or tubes, for the circulation of sap. (b) Operating by means of, or made up of an arrangement of, vessels; as, the vascular system in animals, including the arteries, veins, capillaries, lacteals, etc. (c) Of or pertaining to the vessels of animal and vegetable bodies; as, the vascular functions. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to the higher division of plants, that is, the phaenogamous plants, all of which are vascular, in distinction from the cryptogams, which to a large extent are cellular only. [ 1913 Webster ]

Vascular plants (Bot.), plants composed in part of vascular tissue, as all flowering plants and the higher cryptogamous plants, or those of the class Pteridophyta. Cf. Cellular plants, under Cellular. --
Vascular system (Bot.), the body of associated ducts and woody fiber; the fibrovascular part of plants. --
Vascular tissue (Bot.), vegetable tissue composed partly of ducts, or sap tubes. --
Water vascular system (Zool.), a system of vessels in annelids, nemerteans, and many other invertebrates, containing a circulating fluid analogous to blood, but not of the same composition. In annelids the fluid which they contain is usually red, but in some it is green, in others yellow, or whitish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Vascularities (Biol.) The quality or state of being vascular. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Physiol.) The process of becoming vascular, or the condition of being vascular; as, the vascularization of cartilege. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) One of the substances of which vegetable tissue is composed, differing from cellulose in respect to its solubility in certain media. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Vascula [ L., a small vessel. ] 1. (Bot.) Same as Ascidium, n., 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A tin box, commonly cylindrical or flattened, used in collecting plants. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. vase; cf. Sp. & It. vaso; fr. L. vas, vasum. Cf. Vascular, Vessel. ] 1. A vessel adapted for various domestic purposes, and anciently for sacrificial uses; especially, a vessel of antique or elegant pattern used for ornament; as, a porcelain vase; a gold vase; a Grecian vase. See Illust. of Portland vase, under Portland. [ 1913 Webster ]

No chargers then were wrought in burnished gold,
Nor silver vases took the forming mold. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Arch.) (a) A vessel similar to that described in the first definition above, or the representation of one in a solid block of stone, or the like, used for an ornament, as on a terrace or in a garden. See Illust. of Niche. (b) The body, or naked ground, of the Corinthian and Composite capital; -- called also tambour, and drum. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Until the time of Walker (1791), vase was made to rhyme with base, case, etc., and it is still commonly so pronounced in the United States. Walker made it to rhyme with phrase, maze, etc. Of modern English practice, Mr. A. J. Ellis (1874) says: “Vase has four pronunciations in English: which I most commonly say, is going out of use, hear most frequently, ery rarely, and only know from Cull's marking. On the analogy of case, however, it should be the regular sound.”
The Merriam-Webster's 10th Colletgiate Dictionary says: “U. S. oftenest vās; Canada usu. and U. S. also vāz; Canada also & U. S. sometimes väz.”
One wit has noted that “a väz is a vāz that costs more than $100.”, suggesting that the former is considered a higher-class pronunciation. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

3. (Bot.) The calyx of a plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Art) A clock whose decorative case has the general form of a vase, esp. one in which there is no ordinary dial, but in which a part of a vase revolves while a single stationary indicator serves as a hand. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ Vas + -ecmoty. ] (Surg.) Resection or excision of the vas deferens. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]