Container
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A container or receptacle is an object which has a cavity in its interior which serves the purpose of separating its contents from its environment (compartmentalisation). Some types of container have the possibility of a (temporary) closure (lid), so that these types of container may also change the classifying subgroup, e.g. boxes, cans, tins, tank, bottle, etc.
A vessel is an object with a stiff and rigid shell that can hold contents of varying consistency. In round or cylindrical form, such vessels are also called a barrel or cask (from the Latin tunna for the "cask"). Larger elongated open containers are the rectangular trough with a flat bottom or domed cavity and the oval trough-shaped tub.
Technical standards define a vessel as impervious to the medium for which it is designed (a wicker basket, for example, is a vessel but not a container for liquids. A plastic bag is a container, but not a vessel.), and a vessel as a movable object (an oil tank of a heating system is a container, but not a vessel). In common usage, the distinction based on tightness is not made, and it can stand container in general.
Usage
Containers and vessels are used to store or keep different objects for a certain period of time. However, they can also be used as containers to group or arrange objects with certain common features (general cargo). Another area of application is the protection of the contents from external influences or, conversely, the protection of the environment from the hazards of the contents in storage and transport.
There are specialized containers for solid, liquid and gaseous substances. These can be differentiated according to the material of manufacture, such as wood, ceramics, glass, metal, plastic, etc.. Depending on requirements, they can be stationary, for example as a salvage bunker or silo, or mobile, for example as a tanker, container, stackable or folding container. A special form is the pressure vessel.
Word Origin
The word container goes back to Middle High German behalten in the sense of 'to keep'. Gefäß is traceable in Middle High German since the 11th century as gevǣze, from Old High German gifāzi, 'equipment', 'ornament'. Later in a narrower meaning under the influence of the not certainly related word barrel as 'load of provisions' (compare 'fassen').
