Wateringcan

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A container designed for pouring water onto plants, usually featuring a spout and handle for ease of use
2. A tool used to irrigate plants, typically characterized by a long spout that allows for targeted watering
3. An instrument for supplying moisture to garden plants, often equipped with a handle and a narrow opening for precise delivery of water

Etymology: The watering can is a plain compound: "watering" is the verbal noun of "water" (from Old English "wæter"), and "can" is an ordinary container word, from Old English "canne," a vessel. Put together, the name just describes what the object is: a can used for watering. Compounds like this are typical of English, which often builds new names by joining two everyday words rather than borrowing them. Use of the compound "watering can" is recorded in English from the 1600s onward, and the object itself came into common use alongside the spread of domestic gardening. Early versions were often made of tin or copper, and the perforated "rose" spout that spreads the water into a shower was a later refinement.

Synonyms: watering pot, sprinkler