Bas·ket n.
 1. A vessel made of osiers or other twigs, cane, rushes, splints, or other flexible material, interwoven.  “Rude baskets . . . woven of the flexile willow.”
 2. The contents of a basket; as much as a basket contains; as, a basket of peaches.
 3. Arch. The bell or vase of the Corinthian capital. [Improperly so used.]
 4. The two back seats facing one another on the outside of a stagecoach. [Eng.]
 Basket fish Zool., an ophiuran of the genus Astrophyton, having the arms much branched. See Astrophyton.
 Basket hilt, a hilt with a covering wrought like basketwork to protect the hand. --Hudibras. Hence, Basket-hilted, a.
 Basket work, work consisting of plaited osiers or twigs.
 Basket worm Zool., a lepidopterous insect of the genus Thyridopteryx and allied genera, esp. Thyridopteryx ephemeræformis.  The larva makes and carries about a bag or basket-like case of silk and twigs, which it afterwards hangs up to shelter the pupa and wingless adult females.
 collection basket, a small basket1 mounted on the end of a pole, used in churches to collect donations from those attending a church service; -- the long pole allows the collector to hold the basket in front of those at the end of the pew, while the collector remains in the aisle. waste basket, a basket4 used to hold waste matter, such as discarded paper, commonly shaped like a truncated cone, with the wide end open and at the top.  Vessels of other shapes, such as oblong containers, are also called waste baskets.


 basket hilt
      n : a hilt with a basket-shaped guard for the hand