beaker

[From O.S. biker i. In Sw. bagare; Dan. bæger; Icel. bikarr; Dut. beker; Ger. becher; O. H. Ger. bechar, pechar, pechare; Ital. bichiere; Lat. bicarium = a wine-ve el, a wine-gla .] 1. A large drinking-ve el, a tumbler. "He lives, and o'er his brimming beaker boasts." Cowper: Task , bk. vi. 2. A ve el used for experiments in natural philosophy, chemistry, or any other science. It has an open mouth, and a lip for pouring. "Various quantities of distilled water were weighed into beakers -Proceedings of the Physical Society of London, pt. ii, p. 56.