amphora

[ am-fer-uh ]

/ ˈæm fər ə /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR amphora ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural am·pho·rae [am-fuh-ree] /ˈæm fəˌri/, am·pho·ras. Greek and Roman Antiquity.

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.

RELATED WORDS

urn, ornament, vase

Nearby words

Compare pelike, stamnos.

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

Related formsam·pho·ral, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for amphora

And by the time the last American troops pulled out in 2011, the Iraqi amphora might not have looked like new.
Iraq Is Not Our War Anymore. Let It Be Iran’s Problem.|Christopher Dickey|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She hesitated whether to break an Arabic amphora close by, or to fall on that bowed head and scratch it with her nails.
Woman Triumphant|Vicente Blasco Ibaez
In a Russian story in Afanassieff, the amphora takes the place of the pipkin that makes its owner rich.
Zoological Mythology, Volume I (of 2)|Angelo de Gubernatis
The amphora corresponds to the Greek wine-jar of that name, and had, like its prototype, a pointed base.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6|Various

With a free, rounded movement of her arms, like the handles of an amphora, she points to a vacant place beside her.
Woman|Magdeleine Marx
And clapping the amphora to his lips, he drained it at one draught.
The Poniard's Hilt|Eugne Sue

British Dictionary definitions for amphora

amphora

/ (ˈæmfərə) /

noun plural -phorae (-fəˌriː) or -phoras

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

Word Origin for amphora

C17: from Latin, from Greek amphoreus, from amphi- + phoreus bearer, from pherein to bear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for amphora

amphora

early 14c., "two-handled vessel for holding wine, oil, etc.," from Latin amphora from Greek amphoreus "an amphora, jar, urn," contraction of amphiphoreus, literally "two-handled," from amphi- "on both sides" (see amphi-) + phoreus "bearer," related to pherein "to bear" (see infer). Also a liquid measure in the ancient world, in Greece equal to 9 gallons, in Rome to 6 gallons, 7 pints.