amphora

[am-fer-uh]

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.

amphora

/ ˈæmfərə /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• amphoral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of amphora¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of amphora¹

C17: from Latin, from Greek amphoreus, from _amphi- + phoreus bearer, from pherein 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.

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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.

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Over two days at sea this May, the vehicle mapped the site and determined that the amphorae rested in a vessel half-embedded in sediment.

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This dietary change was linked to the creation of small cups and handled amphorae.

Read more on Science Daily

It dates from about the 1st or 2nd Century BC and was found laden with hundreds of amphorae - a type of Roman terracotta jar.

Read more on BBC