amphora

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

Origin of amphora

1
1300–50; Middle English <Latin <Greek amphoreús, equivalent to am(phi)- amphi- + phoreús bearer (i.e., handle), akin to phérein to bear

Other words from amphora

  • am·pho·ral, adjective

Words Nearby amphora

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use amphora in a sentence

  • Two slaves carrying a great amphora hanging from a pole swung between their shoulders, stopped near them a moment to rest.

    Snnica | Vicente Blasco Ibez
  • Flies buzzed about their heads in clouds; an amphora of water stood within their reach.

    Snnica | Vicente Blasco Ibez
  • By this point the amphora was fastened into the soft earth, or the holes in the tap-room counters specially intended for them.

  • Here allusion is made to a hole in the stone floor designed to secure the amphora.

British Dictionary definitions for amphora

amphora

/ (ˈæmfərə) /


nounplural -phorae (-fəˌriː) or -phoras
  1. an ancient Greek or Roman two-handled narrow-necked jar for oil, wine, etc

Origin of amphora

1
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