Where does “cupcake” come from?
Cupcake is a compound of English cup and cake, with cup deriving from Old Norse kaka, which traces to Proto-Indo-European keup- and ultimately keh₂p-.
cupcake (English): A small cake baked in a paper container shaped...
Definitions
- A small cake baked in a paper container shaped...
Ancestry of “cupcake”, step by step
cupcake traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Cup
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Cup | A win of a championship that is awarded a cup; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | cuppe | cup |
| 3 | Old English | cuppe | cup |
| 4 | Late Latin | cuppa | drinking vessel; barrel, cask; axle |
| 5 | Latin | cūpa | tub, cask, tun, vat |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | κώπη | a handle |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kóh₂p-eh₂ | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂p- | to seize, grab; to seize; take up; lift; to take,... |