Carafes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A container, typically made of glass, used for holding and serving liquids such as wine or water
2. Often characterized by a narrow neck and a wide body, designed for easy pouring and aeration
3. In some contexts, it may refer to decorative vessels used in dining or display settings

Etymology: The word "carafes" is simply the plural of "carafe," a glass wine jug with a flat-bottomed, wide-mouthed shape. Its history runs through several languages and ends up connected to an unlikely relative. The root lies in Arabic "ḡarrāf," a word for a drinking vessel, and the Arabic feminine form "ḡarrāfa" was taken into Italian as "caraffa." From there the word passed into French as "carafe," and English borrowed it from French in 1796, its first recorded appearance. Surprisingly, "carafe" is a doublet of "carboy," a large protective glass container. Both descend from the same Arabic source, but they travelled different routes into English and took on different shapes and uses over time. One stayed a domestic table vessel, while the other became a heavy container for chemicals and acids.

Synonyms: decanters