amphora

See also: âmphora

English

An Etruscan amphora

Etymology

From Latin amphora (“large wine vessel, Roman unit of liquid measure”), from Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς (amphoreús, “two-handled pitcher, Greek units of liquid measure”), ultimately from Mycenaean Greek 𐀀𐀠𐀡𐀩𐀸 (a-pi-po-re-we, “carried on both sides”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæmfəɹə/
• IPA^(key): /æmˈfɔ(ː)ɹə/ (prescriptively "incorrect" but common; /ˈa-/ in Latin)

• Audio (US)

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Noun

amphora (plural amphoras or amphorae or amphorai)

1. (chiefly historical) A large vessel, especially a thin-necked clay vat used in ancient Greece and Rome for storing and transporting wine and oil.
   • 1914, John L[inton] Myres, Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus, New York, N.Y., page 76:

     By concurrent use of panel decoration and concentric-circle ornament, and by free employment of red paint, the fully developed style of the Geometric Period attains a wide range of rich and elaborate effects. These are best displayed on the necks and shoulders of the very large amphorai which are characteristic of this period.

   • 1973, T[homas] B[ertram] L[onsdale] Webster, Athenian Culture and Society, London: Batsford, →ISBN, page 137:

     A complete set for a ten-man symposion (an ordinary size) with ten deep cups, ten shallow cups, two mixing-bowls, two wine-jugs, two hydriai, two amphorai would cost in the neighbourhood of forty drachmai, and that would not be an unreasonable price for a rich man for a special occasion.

   • 1997, Jonathan M[ark] Hall, Ethnic Identity in Greek Antiquity, Cambridge University Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 133:

     Traditionally, the style of an artefact has been separated from its function. Thus, the function of a Greek pot – defined in terms of whether it was intended for transportation (hydriai or large amphorai), storage (pithoi and some kraters), distribution (oinokhoai) or consumption (cups, skyphoi and plates) – tends to be treated separately from any painted decoration on its surface.

2. (historical) A Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of 80 Roman pounds of wine and equivalent to about 26 L although differing slightly over time.
3. (historical) A Roman unit of ship capacity, similar to tonnage.
4. (botany) A lower valve of a fruit that opens transversely.

Synonyms

• (unit of liquid volume): Roman amphora, quadrantal, amphora quadrantal

Coordinate terms

• (large vessel): bottle, jug, keg, barrel, cask, tun
• (unit of liquid volume): lingula (1/2304 amphora), cyathus (1/576 amphora), acetabulum (1/384 amphora), quartarius (1/192 amphora), hemina (1/96 amphora), sextarius (1/48 amphora), congius (⅛ amphora), urna (½ amphora), culeus (20 amphoras)

Derived terms

• amphoral
• amphoralike
• French amphora
• Greek amphora
• Roman amphora

 

Related terms

• amphoric, amphora quadrantal

Translations

large clay vessel used in ancient Greece and Rome for storing wine and oil

• Armenian: կարաս (hy) (karas)
• Catalan: àmfora (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 雙耳細頸橢圓土罐／双耳细颈椭圆土罐 (shuāng'ěrxìjǐng tuǒyuán tǔguàn), 雙耳瓶／双耳瓶 (shuāng'ěrpíng)

• Dutch: amfoor (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: amforo
• Finnish: amfora (fi)
• French: amphore (fr) f
• German: Amphore (de) f
• Greek: αμφορέας (el) m (amforéas)

  Ancient: ἀμφορεύς m (amphoreús)

• Hungarian: amfora (hu)
• Italian: anfora (it) f
• Latin: amphora f
• Polish: amfora (pl) f
• Portuguese: ânfora (pt) f
• Russian: а́мфора (ru) f (ámfora)
• Serbo-Croatian: amfora (sh) f
• Spanish: cántaro (es) m
• Swedish: amfora (sv)
• Turkish: amfora (tr)
• Ugaritic: 𐎗𐎈𐎁𐎚 (rḥbt)

Anagrams

• amorpha

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς (amphoreús, “two-handled pitcher, units of liquid measure”). As a Roman unit, originally an elision of amphora quadrantal.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈam.pʰo.ra/, [ˈämpʰɔrä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈam.fo.ra/, [ˈämforä]

Noun

amphora f (genitive amphorae); first declension

1. (chiefly historical) amphora, a large vessel, especially one made of clay with two handles used for storing and transporting wine and oil
2. (historical) amphora, a Roman unit of liquid measure equivalent to about 26 L

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	amphora	amphorae
Genitive	amphorae	amphorum amphorārum
Dative	amphorae	amphorīs
Accusative	amphoram	amphorās
Ablative	amphorā	amphorīs
Vocative	amphora	amphorae

The genitive plural amphorārum has the alternative form amphōrum which is especially used in contexts of liquid measure.

Synonyms

• (unit of liquid measure): quadrantal, amphora quadrantal

Coordinate terms

• (unit of liquid volume): lingula (1/2304 amphora), cyathus (1/576 amphora), acetabulum (1/384 amphora), quartarius (1/192 amphora), hemina (1/96 amphora), sextarius (1/48 amphora), congius (⅛ amphora), urna (½ amphora), culeus (20 amphorae)

Derived terms

• amphorālis
• amphorārius
• amphoricus
• ampulla

Descendants

• Catalan: àmfora
• French: amphore
• Galician: ánfora
• Italian: anfora
• Portuguese: ânfora
• Spanish: ánfora
• → English: amphor
• → German: Amphore
• →? Proto-West Germanic: *ambrī (see there for further descendants)

References

• “amphora”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “amphora”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• amphora in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• amphora in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “amphora”, in The Perseus Project (1999) Perseus Encyclopedia‎^[1]
• “amphora”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “amphora”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin