Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BOT'TLE, n. [Fr. bouteille; Arm. boutailh; Ir. boid, buideal; W. bôth, a boss, a bottle, the nave of a wheel; bot, a round body; botas, from bot, a boot, a buskin; botwm, a button; and from bôth, the W. has also bothell, a bottle, a round vessel, a wheal or blister; Sp. botella, a bottle, and botilla, a small wine bag, from bota, a leather bag for wine, a butt or cask, a boot; It. bottiglia, a bottle; botte, a butt, a cask, and boots; Russ. butilka, a bottle. In G. beutel, a bag, a purse, seems to be the Sp. botilla. In Fr. botte is a boot, a bunch or bundle, botte de foin, a bottle of hay. It would seem that bottle is primarily a bag, and from the sense of swelling, bulging, or collecting into a bunch; if so, the word was originally applied to the bags of skins used as bottles in Asia. Yet the primary sense is not easily ascertained. The Arabic has بَطٌ batta, a duck, Sp. pato, and “urceus coriaceus in quo liquidiora circumferunt viatores.” – Cast.]

1. A hollow vessel of glass, wood, leather or other material, with a narrow mouth, for holding and carrying liquors. The Oriental nations use skins or leather for the conveyance of liquors; and of this kind are the bottles mentioned in Scripture: “Put new wine into new bottles.” In Europe and America, glass is used for liquors of all kinds; and farmers use small cags or hollow vessels of wood, which are called bottles. The small kinds of glass bottles are called vials or phials.
2. The contents of a bottle; as much as a bottle contains; but from the size of bottles used for wine, porter, and cider, a bottle is nearly a quart; as, a bottle of wine or of porter.
3. A quantity of hay in a bundle; a bundle of hay.