American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

, a pitcher is a container with a spout used for storing and pouring liquids. In English-speaking countries outside

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, a

jug A jug is a type of container commonly used to hold and serve liquids, but not normally to drink from directly. It has an opening, sometimes narrow, from which to pour or drink, and has a handle, and usually a pouring lip. Jugs throughout histor ...

is any container with a handle and a mouth and spout for liquid – American "pitchers" will be called jugs elsewhere. Generally a pitcher also has a

handle A handle is a part of, or an attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and object manipulation, manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomics, ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt wi ...

, which makes pouring easier. Ewer is an older word for a pitcher or jug of any type, though tending to be used for a vase-shaped pitcher, often decorated, with a base and a flaring spout. The word is now unusual in informal English describing ordinary domestic vessels. A notable ewer is the

America's Cup The America's Cup is a sailing competition and the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one from the yacht club that currently holds the trophy (known ...

, which is awarded to the winning team of the America's Cup sailing regatta match.

Etymology

The word ''pitcher'' comes from the 13th-century

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

word ''picher'', which means earthen jug. The word ''picher'' is linked to the

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th [2-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

word ''pichier'', which is the altered version of the word ''bichier'', meaning drinking cup. The word's origin goes as far back to the Medieval Latin word ' from the Greek word ''βῖκος'' : ''bîkos'', which meant earthen vessel. Compare with Dutch ''beker'', German ''Becher'', English ' and Italian '.

Ancient examples

In the typology of Greek vase shapes jug or pitcher shapes include various types of oenochoe, and the ''olpe''. An early mention of a pitcher occurs in the Book of Genesis, when Rebekah comes to Abraham's servant bearing a vessel with water. In the

Book of Judges The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. In the narrative of the Hebrew Bible, it covers the time between the conquest described in the Book of Joshua and the establishment of a kingdom in the ...

, Gideon gives empty pitchers containing lamps to three hundred men divided into three companies. In the gospels of

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

and Luke, Jesus tells two of his disciples to go into the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, where they will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water (Greek: ''κεράμιον ὕδατος'' : ''kerámion hydatos''), and instructs them to follow him to locate the upper room to be used for the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

. The pitcher of Marwan Ibn Mohammad, on display at the Museum of Islamic Art in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, predates the 8th century. During the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

, ewers fashioned from glazed

earthenware Earthenware is glazed or unglazed Vitrification#Ceramics, nonvitreous pottery that has normally been fired below . Basic earthenware, often called terracotta, absorbs liquids such as water. However, earthenware can be made impervious to liquids ...

bore illustrations of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n textiles and

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

and depicted increased

cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to Monoculturalism, monoculture. It has a variety of meanings in different contexts, sometimes applying to cultural products like art works in museums or entertainment ...

in populated Chinese cities. Once coveted by the upper classes, ewers eventually became commonplace.

Idiomatic usage

The proverb "little pitchers have big ears" cautions adults that children are not always as naïve as they seem.

Gallery

File:Ewer MET 2 9r2 34J.jpg, Austrian ewer, 1775, silver, height: 48 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art. File:MuseAcrotiriItems-133-134-6645-2 (cropped).JPG,

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centered on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and Minoan art, energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe. The ruins of the Minoan pa ...

ewers, early 17th century BC, from Akrotiri (

Santorini Santorini (, ), officially Thira (, ) or Thera, is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southern ...

), Museum of Prehistoric Thera (Santorini, Greece). File:Pitcher with Black on White Geometric Designs, 900-1300, 01.1538.1756.jpg, Pitcher with Black on White Geometric Designs,

Anasazi The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Ancestral Pueblo peoples or the Basketmaker-Pueblo culture, were an ancient Native American culture of Pueblo peoples spanning the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southea ...

(Native American), 900-1300 AD.

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

. File:Jebena Ethiopian coffee pot.jpg, Jebena. A Jebena is the coffee pitcher used in Ethiopia and Eritrea and is a piece of pottery. File:Pitcher 1490-1510.jpg, Silver-gilt pitcher from the Portuguese crown jewels collection, . File:Pitcher and Glass of Yukon Gold Beer - Klondike Kate's - Dawson City - Yukon Territory - Canada.jpg, Pitcher of beer. File:Khalili Collection Islamic Art gls 0275.1.jpg, alt=9th–11th century AD. a pear-shaped ewer with almond-shaped mouth, Large Ewer, Iran or Egypt 9th–11th century AD, held by the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art. This is the largest specimen known so far of a popular Islamic glass form – the pear-shaped ewer with almond-shaped mouth. The shape can be traced back to Sasanian glass ewers. File:Ewer base with Zodiac medallions MET DP148.jpg, Ewer Base with Zodiac Medallions, first half of the 13th century,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcher (Container) Storage vessels Glass containers Beer vessels and serving Pottery shapes Liquid containers fr:Pichet

Etymology

Ancient examples

Idiomatic usage

Gallery

See also

References