Cisten

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic spelling for a reservoir or tank used to hold and store water for later use
2. Obsolete variant of the word for a sealed container or tank that keeps a supply of water
3. Older form of the term for a basin, tank or underground vessel built to collect and hold water

Etymology: "Cisten" is an Early Modern English spelling of "cistern," and its story begins with a Latin word for a basin or box. Latin "cista" meant a chest or box, and it came from Greek "kiste," which had the same sense, a container that held things. Latin then formed "cisterna" from it, meaning a reservoir or underground tank for holding water, the sort of vessel a household or town needed for rain or stored supply. The word reached English through Old French "cisterne" in the Middle English period, and early English writers spelled it in several ways, including "cisterne" and "cisten." Over time the "-ern" ending settled into the form we use today, while the older spelling dropped out. Because the spelling changed, "cisten" now looks like a separate word, but it is simply an older way of writing the same thing.