Main Entry: res·er·voir

Pronunciation: \ˈre-zə-ˌvwär, -zər-, -ˌvwȯr also -ˌvȯi\

Function: noun

Etymology: French réservoir, from Middle French, from reserver

Date: 1690

1 : a place where something is kept in store: as a : an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use b : a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held c : supply, store <a large reservoir of educated people>
2 : an extra supply : reserve
3 : an organism in which a parasite that is pathogenic for some other species lives and multiplies usually without damaging its host