ampoule

noun

am·​poule ˈam-ˌpyül 

-pül

variants or ampule or less commonly ampul

1

: a hermetically sealed small bulbous glass vessel that is used to hold a solution for hypodermic injection

2

: a vial resembling an ampoule

Examples of ampoule in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Editor tip: Apply only half of the ampoule onto your face, neck, and neckline. —Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 18 Oct. 2024

Among the artifacts found on site some of the most notable include a bronze cross, a Communion spoon and ampoule, and a small ointment vial. —Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 26 Sep. 2024

Jason closes the door and opens the container of ampoules. —Nick Caruso, TVLine, 26 June 2024

First, apply an ampoule of hyaluronic acid that floods skin with moisture, then press the sheet mask on your skin. —Claire Sullivan, WWD, 9 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, earlier, "vial, flask," going back to Old French ampule, ampoule, borrowed from Latin ampulla ampulla

Note: The word ampoule in reference to a vessel holding liquid for a hypodermic injection was introduced by its inventor, the French pharmacist Stanislas Limousin (1831-87), in "Ampoules hypodermiques. Nouveau mode de préparation des solutions pour les injections hypodermiques," Bulletin générale de thérapeutique médicale et chirurgicale, vol. 110 (1886), p. 316. — The spellings ampule, ampul hark back to an earlier English word meaning "vial, flask," apparently rare by the 19th century, that continues Middle English ampulle, ampoile, borrowed from the Anglo-French and Old French word. Old English ampelle, ampulle "flask," a feminine weak noun, is borrowed directly from Latin.

First Known Use

1886, in the meaning defined at sense 1