<OL TYPE="1"><LI>a vessel<LI>an implement<OL TYPE="a"><LI>in the plural<OL TYPE="1"><LI>household utensils, domestic gear<LI>the tackle and armament of vessels, used specifically of sails and ropes</OL></OL><LI>metaph.<OL TYPE="a"><LI>a man of quality, a chosen instrument<LI>in a bad sense, an assistant in accomplishing an evil deed</OL></OL>"Vessel" was a common Greek metaphor for "body" since Greeks thoughtof souls living temporarily in bodies.