amphora

American  

[am-fer-uh] / ˈæm fər ə /

noun

Greek and Roman Antiquity.

amphorae, plural amphoras plural

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

Derived Forms

• amphoral
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• amphorae
  plural
• amphoras
  plural

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

See Examples For:

amphora amphorae amphoras

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

What he does believe is the pottery was producing the jars were most likely to have been used in the vicinity, unlike the imported amphora.

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

Piper set down her amphora, the tall ceramic wine jar in which her sword was hidden.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

Then all that remains are the fading memories of golden ages—and the broken shards of discarded amphorae.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2025

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

From Science Daily ● May 21, 2024

It is not known what the Roman jars on board would have been used for, although typically amphorae were used to transport goods, such as oil, wine or fish sauce.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2023

Both wine and olive oil, as well as other goods, were usually shipped in amphorae.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

During the 1961–1964 excavations, 110 of the amphorae were brought to the surface.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

Javi said he’d affixed ornamental amphoras and delicate clay stars beneath a sweeping arch.

From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2024

Using underwater vacuums to clear out 1.5 meters of sand, they found over 200 amphoras that still contained ingredients from the Mediterranean diet, like fish sauce, and a variety of olives, dates and figs.

From Reuters ● Sep. 22, 2022

Back and forth from Libya to the south, to Sicily and Rome to the east, sail-driven merchant vessels carried olive oil, cheeses, charcuterie and wine often stored in massive terra-cotta amphoras.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 28, 2021

The pots, distant relatives to amphoras and urns, stand on the floor and reach to the viewer’s ribs and higher.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2019

The articles made by the potter are ordinary circular vessels or gharas used for storing and collecting water, larger ones for keeping grain, flour and vegetables, and surāhis or amphoras for drinking-water.

From The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India - Volume IV of IV Kumhar-Yemkala by Russell, R. V. (Robert Vane)