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Origin and history of basket

basket(n.)

"vessel made of thin strips of wood, or other flexible materials, interwoven in a great variety of forms, and used for many purpose," early 13c., from Anglo-French bascat; a word of obscure origin despite much speculation.

On one theory, it is from Latin bascauda "kettle, table-vessel," said by the Roman poet Martial to be from Celtic British and perhaps cognate with Latin fascis "bundle, faggot," in which case it probably originally meant "wicker basket." But OED frowns on this, and there is no evidence of such a word in Celtic unless later words in Irish and Welsh, sometimes counted as borrowings from English, are original. As "a goal in the game of basketball," 1892; as "a score in basketball," by 1898.

also from early 13c.

Entries linking to basket

basket case(n.)

1919, American English, originally a reference to rumors of quadriplegics as a result of catastrophic wounds suffered in World War I (the U.S. military authorities vehemently denied there were any such in its hospitals), from basket (n.) + case (n.2). Probably literal, i.e., stuck in a basket, but basket had colloquial connotations of poverty (begging) and helplessness long before this. The figurative sense of "person emotionally unable to cope" is from 1921.

basketball(n.)

also basket-ball, "game in which the object is to throw the ball into one of the two baskets placed at opposite ends of the court," 1892, American English, from basket + ball (n.1). The game was invented 1891 by James A. Naismith (1861-1939), physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.

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Trends of basket

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to explore

hoop
late 12c., "circular band, flattened ring," probably from an unrecorded Old English *hop, from Proto-Germanic *hōp (source also of Old Frisian hop "a hoop, band," Middle Dutch and Dutch hoep "hoop," Old Norse hop "a small bay"). The original meaning must have been "curve; ring,"
coffin
early 14c., "chest or box for valuables," from Old French cofin "sarcophagus," earlier "basket, coffer" (12c., Modern French...coffin), from Latin cophinus "basket, hamper" (source of Italian cofano, Spanish cuebano "basket"), from Greek kophinos..."a basket," which is of uncertain origin....
bin
"enclosed receptacle for some commodity," Old English binne "basket, manger, crib," a word of uncertain origin....Celtic word seems to be preserved in Italian benna "dung cart," French benne "grape-gatherer's creel," Dutch benne "large basket...," all of which are from Late Latin benna "cart," Medieval Latin benna "basket."...
scuttle
Middle English scutel "dish; basket, winnowing basket," from late Old English scutel "broad, shallow dish; platter," from...The meaning "basket for sifting grain" is attested from mid-14c.; the sense of "deep, sheet-metal bucket for holding small...
junket
late 14c., jonket, "basket in which fish are caught or carried," from Medieval Latin iuncata "rush basket," perhaps from...The English word shifted meaning by 1520s to "feast, banquet," probably via the notion of a picnic basket; this led to extended...
canasta
1945, Uruguayan card game played with two decks and four jokers, popular 1945-c. 1965; from Spanish, literally "basket,"...a meld was tejiendo las cartas, literally "weaving the cards," hence perhaps the name is based on the image of a woven "basket...
confiscate
participle of confiscare, from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + fiscus "public treasury," originally "money basket..., wicker basket" (see fiscal)....
pooh
1590s, "a 'vocal gesture' expressing the action of puffing anything away" [OED], used as an exclamation of dislike, scorn, or contempt, first attested in Hamlet Act I, Scene III, where Polonius addresses Ophelia with, "Affection! pooh! you speak like a green girl, / Unsifted in s
hamper
late 14c., hampren "surround, imprison, confine; pack in a container; impede in motion or progress," of uncertain origin; probably from hamper (n.1), unless it is somehow connected to Middle English hamelian "to maim." Related: Hampered; hampering...."large basket," early 14c., h
gaol
see jail (n.), you tea-sodden football hooligan. Formerly in official use in Britain, and thus sometimes regarded in U.S. as a characteristic British spelling (though George Washington used it); by the time of OED 2nd edition (1980s) both spellings were considered correct there;

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Dictionary entries near basket
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