Meanings
plural holmoi
- An Ancient Greek or Etruscan vase with a rounded body, especially a closed vessel of nearly spherical form on a high stem or pedestal, or a drinking cup with a foot and stem.
The large vase of a globular form standing in the middle is an holmos or therikleios, «vase for perfumes.»
1873, Ercole G. Massi, Sculptures and Galleries in the Vatican Palace, page 2352 more examples
The same characteristics of the clay of the small holmoi apply to almost all the fine impasto pottery at 'Satricum' except for the globular ollae, which have a reddish slip and a yellowish brown or greyish brown clay core like the holmos.
1991, Edward Herring, The archaeology of power, page 27We can then estimate the length of the portions that are lost–probably two holmoi and a short length of reed extrusion–by finding a length which, when added to the length between the top of the surviving part of the instrument and I, and that between the same point and II, will give two lengths which are in the ratio 4:3.
2002, John G Landels, Music in Ancient Greece and Rome
Origin
- Ancient Greekὅλμος
- Englishholmos
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ὅλμος (hólmos).
More words from Ancient Greek
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Anagrams
Cite this entry
holmos. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holmos
“holmos.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holmos. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “holmos,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/holmos.
Source: holmos on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.