amphora

American  

[am-fer-uh] / ˈæm fər ə /

noun

Greek and Roman Antiquity.

plural

amphorae, amphoras

1. a large two-handled storage jar having an oval body, usually tapering to a point at the base, with a pair of handles extending from immediately below the lip to the shoulder: used chiefly for oil, wine, etc., and, set on a foot, as a commemorative vase awarded the victors in contests such as the Panathenaic games.

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amphora British  

/ ˈæmfərə /

noun

1. an ancient Greek or Roman two-handled narrow-necked jar for oil, wine, etc

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Other Word Forms

• amphoral adjective

Etymology

Origin of amphora

1300–50; Middle English < Latin < Greek amphoreús, equivalent to am ( phi )- amphi- + phoreús bearer (i.e., handle), akin to phérein to bear

Example Sentences

Sometimes, the shapes in “Pluriverse assembly” suggest familiar objects — a simple light bulb, for instance, or a changing typology of ancient Greek vases, like an amphora or an oenochoe jug.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 17, 2024

Goods like olive oil and wine were imported to Britain using large ceramic jars known as amphora, but Romano-Britons "produced their own big jars which could rival this pottery", said Mr Biddulph.

From BBC • Aug. 10, 2024

Greg could see on his desk a notepad where he had drawn what looked like an amphora with an X over it and written “ick topic pregnancy???”

From Washington Post • Oct. 26, 2022

The agave is roasted in large adobe ovens, fermented in slightly porous clay pots called amphora, aged in oak, then twice distilled in copper and steel.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2022

How exactly had the tiger pushed over the amphora of wine?

From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks