reservoir

name

1. A suburb of Melbourne in the City of Darebin, Victoria, Australia

noun

Etymology: From French réservoir (“collection place”) (fig.), réservoir (“storehouse”) (lit.). in turn from French réserver (“to reserve, keep”).

1. A place where anything is kept in store.

   “Notwithstanding the way in which she had, in what she termed "the delicacy of her feelings," contrived to pour the receipts of the fancy fair into one reservoir, the duke and several other persons complimented Lady Anne very much on the superior beauty and value of her articles,...”

   “The vehicle is fitted with Westinghouse electro-pneumatic brake, and also a Northey exhauster with vacuum chamber and auxiliary reservoir adjacent to the guard's compartment for use when hauling vehicles equipped with vacuum brake gear.”

2. A large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.
3. A small intercellular space, often containing resin, essential oil, or some other secreted matter.
4. A supply or source of something.

   “To replace them and also to provide a reservoir for relief trains, a certain amount of spare stock must be kept on hand.”

   “The goal is to draw on reservoirs of strength that defy rational thought, so you can wrench your poor, obsessed spirit away from work and orient it toward stuff that matters.”

5. A species that acts as host to a zoonosis when it is not causing acute illness in other susceptible species.

   “Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.”

6. A "black box" component that receives an input signal to be read out and mapped by another process, as part of reservoir computing.

verb

Etymology: From French réservoir (“collection place”) (fig.), réservoir (“storehouse”) (lit.). in turn from French réserver (“to reserve, keep”).

1. To store or keep (something) in or as in a reservoir.