Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kewp-der. Latin cūpa ▲ Frankish *koppinflu.? Late Latin cuppabor.? Proto-Indo-European *gew-der. Proto-Germanic *kuppaz? Old English cuppe ▲ Proto-Germanic *kuppaz Old English copp Middle English cuppe, coppe English cup Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”). Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (“tub, cask”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewp- (“a hollow”). Old English copp, however, is from Proto-West Germanic *kopp (“round object, bowl, vessel, knoll, summit, crown of the head”), from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch”) (whence also obsolete English cop (“top, summit, crown of the head”), German Kopf (“top, head”)). The Middle English word was further reinforced by Anglo-Norman cupe and Old French cope, coupe, from Latin cuppa. Compare also Saterland Frisian Kop (“cup”), West Frisian kop (“cup”), Dutch kop (“cup”), German Low German Koppke, Köppke (“cup”), Danish kop (“cup”), Swedish kopp (“cup”). Doublet of coupe, hive, and keeve.
A concave vessel for drinking, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass) and with a handle.
Pour the tea into the cup.
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The contents of said vessel.
I drank two cups of water but still felt thirsty.
In Starbucks’s case, the firm has in effect turned the process of making an expensive cup of coffee into intellectual property.2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
› A customary unit of measure
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US A US unit of liquid measure equal to 8 fluid ounces (¹⁄₁₆ of a US gallon; 236.5882365 mL) or 240 mL.
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Canada A Canadian unit of measure equal to 8 imperial ounces (¹⁄₂₀ imperial gallon; 227.3 mL) or 250 mL.
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UK, Dated A British unit of measure equal to ¹⁄₂ imperial pint (10 imperial ounces; 284 mL) or 300 mL.
The World Cup is awarded to the winner of a quadrennial football tournament.
Of all the queer collections of humans outside of a crazy asylum, it seemed to me this sanitarium was the cup winner. […] When you're well enough off so's you don't have to fret about anything but your heft or your diseases you begin to get queer, I suppose.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter V, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
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A contest for which a cup is awarded.
The World Cup is the world's most widely watched sporting event.
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Ball games, Games, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Soccer, Sports The main knockout tournament in a country, organised alongside the league.
Until it was disbanded in 1999, the European Cup-Winners Cup was contested annually by the winners of Europe's national cups.2002, Rob Dimery, Peter Watts, Guinness world records, Gullane Children's Books, →ISBN:
Wallace had the unique distinction of being the only player ever to play in the English, Welsh and Scottish Cups in the same season.2011, Michael Grant, Rob Robertson, The Management: Scotland's Great Football Bosses, Birlinn, →ISBN:
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One week earlier, they had lost 5-2 to Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal [the German cup] final in Berlin.2014, Martí Perarnau, Pep Confidential: Inside Pep Guardiola's First Season at Bayern Munich, Birlinn, →ISBN:
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Golf, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports A cup-shaped object placed in the target hole.
The ball just misses the cup.
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A container in which dice are held and shaken before being thrown.
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In compounds Any of various sweetened alcoholic drinks.
cider cup
gin cup
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claret cup
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Canada, US A rigid concave protective covering for the male genitalia.
Players of contact sports are advised to wear a cup.
Boys, I thought I told you to let the store tell you what cup size you needed.2000 March 27, Bill Amend, FoxTrot (comic):
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One of the two parts of a brassiere which each cover a breast.
The cups are made of a particularly uncomfortable material.
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Prefixed with a letter, used as a measurement of bra or breast size.
"For cleavage to show up in these photos, a girl has to have C-cup breasts — at least that's what they told me once."2010, Tom Clancy, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Books 1-6, page 1149:
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Mathematics, Sciences The symbol ∪ denoting union and similar operations.
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Human sciences, Mysticism, Philosophy, Sciences, Tarot A suit of the minor arcana in tarot, or one of the cards from the suit.
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A defensive style characterized by a three player near defense cupping the thrower; or those three players.
Ultimate frisbee
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A flexible concave membrane used to temporarily attach a handle or hook to a flat surface by means of suction.
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Anything shaped like a cup.
the cup of an acorn
The cowslip's golden cup no more I see.1745, William Shenstone, Elegy VIII:
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Even if the parts are thicknessed by machine, check for and plane out any cup with a bench plane.2003, Garrett Hack, The Handplane Book, page 143:
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Medicine, SciencesHistorical A cupping glass or other vessel or instrument used to produce the vacuum in cupping.
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Figuratively That which is to be received or indured; that which is allotted to one; a portion of blessings and afflictions.
O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 26:39:
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kewp-der. Latin cūpa ▲ Frankish *koppinflu.? Late Latin cuppabor.? Proto-Indo-European *gew-der. Proto-Germanic *kuppaz? Old English cuppe ▲ Proto-Germanic *kuppaz Old English copp Middle English cuppe, coppe English cup Inherited from Middle English cuppe, coppe, from the merger of Old English cuppe (“cup”) and Old English copp (“cup, vessel”). Old English cuppe is a borrowing from Late Latin cuppa, itself of obscure origin, but probably from earlier Latin cūpa (“tub, cask”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewp- (“a hollow”). Old English copp, however, is from Proto-West Germanic *kopp (“round object, bowl, vessel, knoll, summit, crown of the head”), from Proto-Germanic *kuppaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, curve, arch”) (whence also obsolete English cop (“top, summit, crown of the head”), German Kopf (“top, head”)). The Middle English word was further reinforced by Anglo-Norman cupe and Old French cope, coupe, from Latin cuppa. Compare also Saterland Frisian Kop (“cup”), West Frisian kop (“cup”), Dutch kop (“cup”), German Low German Koppke, Köppke (“cup”), Danish kop (“cup”), Swedish kopp (“cup”). Doublet of coupe, hive, and keeve.
1
To form into the shape of a cup, particularly of the hands.
Cup us, till the world go round.c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vii]:
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Medicine, Sciences, SurgeryArchaic To apply a cup or cupping apparatus to; to subject to the operation of cupping.
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Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences To make concave or in the form of a cup.