From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Receptacle \Re*cep"ta*cle\ (r[-e]*s[e^]p"t[.a]*k'l), noun [F. r['e]ceptacle, L. receptaculum, fr. receptare, v. intens. fr. recipere to receive. See {Receive}.]
1. That which serves, or is used, for receiving and containing something, as for examople, a {basket}, a {vase}, a {bag}, a {reservoir}; a {repository}.
O sacred receptacle of my joys! --Shak.
2. (Bot.) (a) The apex of the flower stalk, from which the organs of the flower grow, or into which they are inserted. See Illust. of {Flower}, and {Ovary}. (b) The dilated apex of a pedicel which serves as a common support to a head of flowers. (c) An intercellular cavity containing oil or resin or other matters. (d) A special branch which bears the fructification in many cryptogamous plants.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: a container that is used to put or keep things in
2: enlarged tip of a stem that bears the floral parts
3: an electrical (or electronic) fitting that is connected to a source of power and equipped to receive an insert
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
107 Moby Thesaurus words for "receptacle": amnion, androecium, anther, autoclave, bag, basket, billy, bladder, bleb, blister, boll, botany, box, bucket, caddy, cage, calyx, can, canister, capsule, carpel, case, casket, casserole, cell, chest, china, chinaware, coaster, compote, container, corolla, corolla tube, corona, crock, crucible, cyst, dish, epicalyx, fistula, follicle, gallbladder, gallipot, garbage can, gynoecium, hod, holdall, holder, hopper, legume, loculus, magazine, marsupium, megasporophyll, microsporophyll, mortar, mortarboard, pail, palette, patera, perianth, pericarp, petal, pistil, pitcher, plate, platter, pocket, pod, powder horn, receiver, reliquary, repository, sac, saccule, sacculus, saccus, salver, saucer, scrotum, scuttle, seedcase, silique, sinus, slop pail, sound, stamen, stigma, stomach, style, tableware, tin, torus, trash can, tray, trencher, udder, utensil, vasculum, vat, ventricle, vesica, vesicle, vessel, waiter, wastepaper basket, watering can
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