bacia

Bacia is a Portuguese noun with several related senses, covering both concrete objects and abstract concepts. It can denote a large, shallow vessel used for washing or holding liquids, such as a bacia de lavar (washing basin) or simply a basin for water. It also appears in scientific and geographic terms, most notably as bacia hidrográfica, the drainage area of a river and its tributaries, where the landscape and climate influence the flow and storage of water. In geology, the term can refer to a sedimentary or tectonic basin, a depression that accumulates sediments over time.

In anatomy, bacia refers to the pelvis, the pelvic girdle that forms the lower part of the trunk and supports the spine and abdominal organs. The expression bacia óssea is used to describe the pelvic bones, which include the ilíaco, púbis and ísquio. This sense is distinct from the container and hydrological uses, but shares the same etymological root, reflecting the basin-like, bowl-shaped form of the region.

Etymology traces bacia to Latin bacia, meaning basin or tub, with transmission into Portuguese through historical contact with Latin and other Romance languages. The term is widely used across Portuguese-speaking regions to describe both everyday objects and specialized concepts in geography, geology and anatomy.

See also: bacia hidrográfica, bacia sedimentar, bacia óssea.