Where does “cup” come from?
Cup comes from Middle English coppe, from Old English coppe, from Proto-Germanic kuppaz, from Late Latin cuppa, ultimately traced through Proto-Indo-European roots including keh₂p-, keu-, keup-, and gū-.
cup (English): A concave vessel for drinking from, usually made...
Definitions
- A concave vessel for drinking from, usually made...
Ancestry of “cup”, step by step
cup traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English coppe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | coppe | — |
| 2 | Old English | coppe | head |
| 3 | Old English | copp | cup; vessel; top; summit |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *kopp | vessel, container, bowl |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kuppaz | round object; orb; vessel; container; bowl;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | gup- | round object, knoll |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | gew- | to bend, curve, arch, buckle; to bend, to curve;... |
via Middle English cuppe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | cuppe | cup |
| 2 | Old English | cuppe | cup |
| 3 | Late Latin | cuppa | drinking vessel; barrel, cask; axle |
| 4 | Latin | cūpa | tub, cask, tun, vat |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | κώπη | a handle |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | kóh₂p-eh₂ | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂p- | to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,... |