pithos

[ pith-os, pahy-thos ]

noun,plural pi·thoi

[pith-oi, pahy-thoi]. /ˈpɪθ ɔɪ, ˈpaɪ θɔɪ/.

a very large earthenware jar having a wide mouth, used by the ancient Greeks for storing liquids, as wine, or for holding food, as grain, or for the burial of the dead.

Origin of pithos

First recorded in 1875–80, pithos is from the Greek word píthos

Words Nearby pithos

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pithos in a sentence

pithos, pith′os, n. a large spheroid Greek earthenware vase.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) | Various
The tub of Diogenes, there is reason to believe, was a great earthen vase or pot—the pithos.
Pottery and Porcelain, from early times down to the Philadelphia exhibition of 1876 | Charles Wyllys Elliott
The pithakne was a pithos of smaller size used for holding wine.
The Ceramic Art | Jennie J. Young
This tomb also contained a large wheel-made pithos of red impasto ware with designs painted in polychrome.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 6 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for pithos

pithos

/ (ˈpɪθɒs, ˈpaɪ-) /

nounplural -thoi (-θɔɪ)

a large ceramic container for oil or grain

Origin of pithos

from Greek

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

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