canopic jar

noun

ca·​no·​pic jar kə-ˈnō-pik-  -ˈnä- 

: a jar in which the ancient Egyptians preserved the viscera of a deceased person usually for burial with the mummy

Illustration of canopic jar

Examples of canopic jar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Huber, meanwhile, peered a thousand years deeper into the history of Egyptian mummification by scraping residues found in two 3,500-year-old canopic jars. —Sarah Everts, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2025

Found in a hidden burial chamber near the Great Pyramid of her son King Khufu, the collection includes her bed, chair, sarcophagus, canopic jars, and a box of bracelets. —Nada El Sawy, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Dec. 2024

Any internal organs removed during the process were typically placed in canopic jars, each featuring an iconographic lid with one of the four sons of the Egyptian god Horus to protect each organ. —Ashley Strickland, CNN, 9 Nov. 2024

While most prior similar studies focused on samples gleaned from the bandages and tissues of actual mummies, this latest study focuses on the balms used to embalm accompanying organs stored in canopic jars. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2023

Enlarge / One of the limestone canopic jars that once held mummified organs of the Egyptian noblewoman Senetnay (c. 1450 BCE). —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 6 Sep. 2023

This limestone canopic jar contained the organs of Egyptian noblewoman Senetnay preserved in balm. —Popular Science, 31 Aug. 2023

These specialists determined that the stone sculpture is the lid to an Egyptian canopic jar, depicting the funeral deity Imsety. —Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Aug. 2022

This Egyptian canopic jar lid, which was seized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Tennessee, could be up to 3,000 years old. —Sophie Reardon, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2022

Word History

Etymology

Canopus, Egyptian

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for canopic jar

• conservatoire
• retrobulbar
• abattoir
• alcazar
• autocar
• avatar
• belshazzar
• caviar
• caviare
• cinnabar
• commissar
• condylar