phial
/ˈfʌɪəl
/noun
A small cylindrical glass bottle, typically used for medical samples or for potions or medicines: a phial of blood...
- There was an assortment of pill bottles, boxes of syringes, phials of various medicines, and many boxes of gloves.
- Today, even if the original forensic sample is no longer viable for DNA analysis, the glass phial it's been in for decades may offer up enough material.
- The phial contained a second sample of urine from the horse which would have enabled dope testers to determine whether Ireland retained its only gold medal of the games.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French fiole, via Latin from Greek phialē, denoting a broad flat container. Compare with vial.
The word phial is from Old French fiole, via Latin from Greek phialē which described a broad flat container, rather than our small, cylindrical container. Vial is simply a re-spelling of the same word.