amphora

Meaning

Noun

• A two-handled jar with a narrow neck that was used in ancient times to store or carry wine or oil.
• One of various units for measuring liquid or volume during the Roman Empire, measuring between 18.5 and 39 litres depending on the variant.
• Ancient unit of volume, for the measurement of the internal capacity of a ship.
• In botany, the lower valve of the fruit that opens transversely.

Origin

• From Latin amphora, from Ancient Greek ἀμφορεύς ("vase-shaped ornament with a narrow neck"). The earliest known form, and origin of the classical forms, is Mycenaean Greek.