Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PHI'AL, n. [L. phiala; Gr. φιαλη; Pers. pialah; It. fiale; Fr. fiole.]

1. A glass vessel or bottle; in common usage, a small glass vessel used for holding liquors, and particularly liquid medicines. It is often written and pronounced vial.
2. A large vessel or bottle made of glass; as the Leyden phial which is a glass vessel partly coated with tinfoil, to be used in electrical experiments.