[am-fer-uh] 
[-fuh-ree] , -pho⋅ras. Greek and Roman Antiquity. | 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. |
| am·pho·ra (ām'fər-ə) n. pl. am·pho·rae (-fə-rē') or am·pho·ras A two-handled jar with a narrow neck used by the ancient Greeks and Romans to carry wine or oil. [Middle English, from Latin, from Greek amphoreus, short for amphiphoreus : amphi-, amphi- + phoreus, bearer (from pherein, to bear; see bher-1 in Indo-European roots).] am'pho·ral adj. |
amphora
ancient Roman unit of capacity for grain and liquid products equal to 48 sextarii and equivalent to about 27.84 litres (7.36 U.S. gallons). The term amphora was borrowed from the Greeks, who used it to designate a measure equal to about 34 litres (9 U.S. gallons).
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