cup

A1 Topic:Food & Drink

US /ˈkʌp/ UK /ˈkʌp/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like cop /ʌ/ vs /ɑ/

Freq #1423

Meanings

1

noun
A small container with a handle that you drink from.

Pour the tea into the cup.
2

noun
The amount that a cup holds.

They drank a cup of coffee together.
3

noun
A large metal prize, often with two handles, given to the winner of a competition.

The team lifted the cup after winning the final.
4

verb
To make your hands into a curved shape, like a cup.

She cupped her hands to catch the water.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the amount that a cup holds. cupful

3 noun · a large metal prize, often... loving cup

Word family

Forms cuppedcuppingcups

Derived forms a-cupaudiocupbreakfastcupbuttercupclaretcupcoffee-cupcreamcupscup-and-ballcup-bearercup-rosecup-shapedcup-shot

Appears in

Phrases (9)

See all

empty cup
a cup with no liquid remaining in it

Adjective + noun
full cup
a cup filled completely with liquid

Adjective + noun
paper cup
a disposable cup made of paper

Adjective + noun
plastic cup
a cup made of plastic material

Adjective + noun
fill a cup
to put liquid into a cup until it is full

Verb + noun
pour a cup
to pour liquid into a cup

Verb + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

There's many a slip between the cup and the lip

Simplified etymology

Cup is an Old English word borrowed from Latin cuppa. By 1640 it could also mean a cup-shaped sporting trophy, initially in horse racing.

Etymology

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…

cuppe Old English copp Old English cuppa la-lat cūpa Latin *kewp- Proto-Indo-European *kopp Proto-West Germanic *kuppaz Proto-Germanic *gew- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Food & Drink

External links

# cup

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʌp/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkʌp/
**Frequency rank:** 1423

## Meanings
1. A small container with a handle that you drink from.
2. The amount that a cup holds.
3. A large metal prize, often with two handles, given to the winner of a competition.
4. To make your hands into a curved shape, like a cup.

## Examples
- Pour the tea into the cup.
- They drank a cup of coffee together.
- The team lifted the cup after winning the final.
- She cupped her hands to catch the water.

## Derived Forms
- a-cup
- audiocup
- breakfastcup
- buttercup
- claretcup
- coffee-cup
- creamcups
- cup-and-ball
- cup-bearer
- cup-rose
- cup-shaped
- cup-shot

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: cuppe
- Root: copp
- Root: cuppa
- Root: cūpa
- Root: *kewp-
- Root: *kopp
- Root: *kuppaz
- Root: *gew-

## Etymology
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…

## AI Etymology
cup is 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”). The historical chain includes Middle English cuppe, Old English cuppe, Old English copp, la-lat cuppa, Latin cūpa, and later related forms. Current senses include A small container with a handle that you drink from and The amount that a cup holds. English relatives and later formations include a-cup, audiocup, breakfastcup.

## Topics
- Food & Drink

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