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.

---

amphora British  

/ ˈæmfərə /

noun

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

---

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

Explanation

An amphora is an ancient jar with a long neck and two handles. Some are small like wine bottles, but others are as big as grown men. All of them have oval bodies, skinny necks, and two handles. The amphora was used in ancient Greece and Rome as a type of container for wine or oil. People don’t use them for wine or oil anymore, but you might find a decorative amphora in a fancy house, although you’d most likely see one in an ancient art exhibit at a museum. You can detect the meaning of this word in its two Greek roots, since amph means "on both sides" and phor means "to carry."

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

The show’s title characters also appear on four amphora that were made last year but are roughly crafted to give an illusion of ancientness.

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2023

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

A golden amphora your mother gave for this—Hephaistos’ work, a gift from Dionysos.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer