basin vs cistern

basin

noun
  • A wide bowl for washing, sometimes affixed to a wall. 

  • A rock formation scooped out by water erosion. 

  • An area of land from which water drains into a common outlet; drainage basin. 

  • A depression, natural or artificial, containing water. 

verb
  • To serve as or become a basin. 

  • To shelter or enclose in a basin. 

  • To create a concavity or depression in. 

cistern

noun
  • In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank. 

  • The vessel surrounding the condenser in a steam engine. 

  • A cisterna. 

  • A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use. 

How often have the words basin and cistern occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )