demijohn means A large bottle with a short neck, sometimes with two small handles at the neck, sometimes encased in wickerwork. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Why this word is great
DEMIJOHN — [Noun] A large, bulbous glass bottle with a short, narrow neck, traditionally encased in a protective basket of wicker or rattan. Its name is a partial calque of French 'dame-jeanne' (literally "Lady Jane"), with the French feminine name 'Jeanne' replaced by the English masculine 'John'. Unlike a carboy—a stark, industrial vessel for acids—or a flagon—a convivial, handled pitcher for the table—a demijohn is a vessel of patient, storied containment. It is the amber glow of homemade wine in a cellar's gloom, the patient gurgle of fermentation beneath its woven shield, the cobwebbed heft of a vintage never quite meant to be opened—a humble reliquary for the human compulsion to save things for a better day.
noun
- A large bottle with a short neck, sometimes with two small handles at the neck, sometimes encased in wickerwork.““Reckon it's first-drink time,” the old prospector cried cheerily, and unearthed Monica's two-gallon demijohn.”