▪ I. cup, n.
(kʌp)
Forms: α. 1–7 cuppe, (4–5 kuppe), 4–7 cupp, 6– cup, (6 Sc. culp(p). β. 3–5 cupe, 3–6 coupe, 4–5 cowpe, 6 Sc. coup, cowp. γ. 3–5 coppe, 4–5 cope, (5 coop, 6 coope).
[OE. cuppe wk. fem., supposed to be ad. late L. cuppa, the source of It. coppa (close o), Pr., Sp., Pg. copa, OF. cope, cupe, coupe, rarely coppe, mod.F. coupe drinking-vessel, cup.
L. cuppa is generally held to be a differentiated form of cūpa, tub, cask, vat, which survives in F. cuve, Pr., Sp., Pg. cuba tub, etc. But beside cuppe in ME., are found two forms coupe (cowpe) and coppe, with the variants cupe, cope, coope. Of these coupe (cowpe) directly represents OF. coupe; cupe prob. represents the earlier OF. spelling of the same word, but may be merely a variant of cuppe. The status of coppe is not so clear: it may also represent OF. cope (sometimes coppe), or it may be due to mixture of cuppe and OE. copp: see cop n.1; in the form coppes it is impossible to distinguish between the pl. of copp and that of coppe. The rare forms cope, coope, prob. represent OF. cope. Nearly all these by-forms of the word became obs. before 1500; only cuppe survives in mod. English cup.]
I. A drinking-vessel, or something resembling it.
1. A small open vessel for liquids, usually of hemispherical or hemi-spheroidal shape, with or without a handle; a drinking-vessel. The common form of cup (e.g. a tea-cup or coffee-cup) has no stem; but the larger and more ornamental forms (e.g. a wine-cup or chalice) may have a stem and foot, as also a lid or cover; in such case cup is sometimes applied specifically to the concave part that receives the liquid.
(α) cuppe, cupp, cup. (Sc. culp, culpp, belongs perh. to β.)
| c 1000 ælfric Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 122/37 Caupus vel obba, cuppe. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 290 Nime þonne ane cuppan, do an lytel wearmes wætres on innan. c 1205 Lay. 14996 Heo þa cuppe [later t. bolle] bitahte þan kinge. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2318 Ȝure on haueð is cuppe stolen. a 1300 Cursor M. 13402 (Cott.) Þai fild a cupp [v.r. cope, 2 MSS. cuppe] þan son in hast. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 157 Monkes haf grete kuppes. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 109 Cuppe, ciphus, patera, cuppa. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 70, I haue putte..wyn in my cuppe. 1542 Inventories (1815) 74 (Jam.) Item, twa culpis gilt..Item, twa culppis with thair coveris gilt. 1583 Stanyhurst Aeneis ii. (Arb.) 68 Massiue gould cups. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. iii. 56 Fill the Cuppe..Ile pledge you a mile to the bottome. 1667 Milton P.L. v. 444 Mean while at Table Eve..thir flowing cups With pleasant liquors crown'd. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 250 Nor the coy maid..Shall kiss the cup to pass it to the rest. 1842 Tennyson Vision of Sin iv. ix, Fill the cup, and fill the can. 1872 E. Peacock Mabel Heron I. viii. 136 He half filled a leather cup he carried in his pocket. |
(
β)
cupe,
coupe,
cowpe.
| c 1275 Lay. 24612 Mid gildene coupe [earlier t. bolle]. a 1300 Cursor M. 4858 (Cott.) A siluer cupe [3 later MSS. coupe]. a 1300 Ibid. 7728 (Cott.) A cupe [F. cuppe, G. & T. coupe] he tok and a sper. [Cf. OF. Rois 104 pristrent la lance e la cupe ki fud al chief Saül.] c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1458 Couered cowpes foul clene, as casteles arayed. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 23 Coupes of clene gold and coppes of seluer. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 99 Cowpe, or pece, crater (cuppa, P.). c 1450 Merlin 67 The kynge hadde a riche cowpe of goolde. |
(
γ)
coppe (
cope,
coop):
cf. cop n.1| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. 41/258 A coppe of seluer. a 1300 Cursor M. 13402 (Gött.) Þai fild a cope [C. cupp, F. cuppe] sone in hast. 1340 Ayenb. 30 And brekþ potes and coppes. c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 214 With outen coppe [4 MSS. cuppe] he drank al his penaunce. a 1450 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 626/9 Ciphus, coop. 1483 Cath. Angl. 75 A Coppe, ciphus [= scyphus], condus. c 1500 Yng. Children's Bk. 106 in Babees Bk. (1868) 23 Wype thi mouthe when þou wyll drinke, Lest it foule thi copys brinke. |
2. spec. a. The
chalice in which the wine is administered at the Communion. (See also sense 8 b.)
| [1382 Wyclif Matt. xxvi. 27 And he takynge the cuppe dede thankyngis and ȝaue to hem.] c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. x. 203 The eukarist..is born in a coupe ordeyned therto. 1547–8 Ordre of Commvnion 17 The first Cuppe or Chalice. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, Here he is to take the cup into his hand. 1890 J. Hunter Devotional Services, Communion, Then shall the Minister say..when he delivereth the cup: Drink this in remembrance of Christ. |
b. An ornamental cup or other vessel offered as a prize for a race or athletic contest.
| c 1640 [Shirley] Capt. Underwit iii. iii. in Bullen O. Pl. (1883) II. 368 Does the race hold at Newmarket for the Cup? 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. iii. iii, All the family race cups and corporation bowls! 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxix, Think you're vinning a cup, Sir. 1885 Pall Mall G. 4 Apr. 4/2 The competition for the Challenge Cup. |
3. Surg. a. A vessel used for cupping; a cupping-glass.
b. A vessel holding a definite quantity (usually four ounces), used to receive the blood in blood-letting.
| 1617 Mosan tr. Wirtzung's Physick 27 To remoue headach the cups are fixed on the legs. a 1735 Arbuthnot (J.), Hippocrates tells you, that in applying of cups, the scarification ought to be made with crooked instruments. 1792 H. Munro Th. & Pract. Mod. Surg. (1800) 15 As soon as the wound is made by these [lancets], a cup, exhausted of its atmospheric air, applied over the orifices, makes them bleed freely. 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 Of old the cups were either small horns..or glasses of various shapes. |
4. A natural organ or formation having the form of a drinking-cup;
e.g. the rounded cavity or socket of certain bones, as the shoulder-blade and hip-bone; the cup-shaped hardened involucrum (cupule) of an acorn (
acorn-cup); the calyx of a flower, also the blossom itself when cup-shaped; a cup-shaped organ in certain Fungi, or on the suckers of certain Molluscs; a depression in the skin forming a rudimentary eye in certain lower animals (also
eye-cup or
cup-eye).
| 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 81 Take..the cuppes of acornes. 1548–77 Vicary Anat. vii. (1888) 48 The..shoulder-blade..in the vpper part it is round, in whose roundnes is a concauitie, which is called y⊇ boxe or coope of the shoulder. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. ii. i. 31 All their Elues..Creepe into Acorne cups and hide them there. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 849 The Cup of the Hippe. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 45 The Cup is that which infolds the Leaves and the Heart of a Flower, while it is yet in Bud. 1743–6 Shenstone Elegies viii. 38 The cowslip's golden cup no more I see. 1866 Treas. Bot. 870 Peziza..The hymenium lines the cavity of a fleshy membranous or waxy cup. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 456 The suckers of the Decapoda are stalked, and the cup has a marginal horny ring. 1900 F. A. Bather in E. R. Lankester Treat. Zool. III. 30 Each cup is coated at its base with pigment. 1927 Glasgow Herald 9 July 4 In some of the sea-worms..we start with diagrammatically simple ‘cup-eyes’,..and gradually pass to very elaborate ‘cup-eyes’. Ibid., A minute optic skin⁓cup. 1929 Encycl. Brit. XX. 628/2 Eye-spots are found in Medusae, starfishes, and some Annelid worms... The first step..is the sinking of the eye-spot into a pit-like depression, thus forming an eye-cup (optic cup). Ibid., The cells situated at the back of the cup. 1940 Parker & Haswell Text-bk. Zool. (ed. 6) I. 249 [Phylum Platyhelminthes.] When most highly developed the eye..is still of very simple structure, consisting of a cup formed of one or more pigment-cells having sensory cells in close relation to it with processes (nerve-fibres) passing to the brain. |
5. A rounded cavity, small hollow, or depression in the surface of the ground or of a rock.
spec. in
Golf: see
quot. 1887.
| 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey i. 7 The church..stood in a cup of the hillside. 1887 Jamieson Supp., Cup, a term in golfing applied to a small cavity or hole in the course, prob. made by the stroke of a previous player. 1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 133 Beware of a cup, however small. 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 Cup-markings on rocks..of two varieties—circular cavities or ‘cups’ pure and simple, and cups surrounded by circles. |
6. a. techn. Applied to various cup-shaped contrivances; see
quots.| c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 113 Cup, A solid piece of cast iron let into the step of the capstan, and in which the iron spindle at the heel of the capstan works. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Cup. 4. One of a series of little domes attached to a boiler-plate and serving to extend the fire-surface. 1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 99 There are two varieties of cups—‘saucer’ and ‘balance-wheel’—the former, shaped like a saucer, is generally of gold, and is used in three-quarter plate watches. |
b. Painting.
| 1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints 223 The heavier part of the foliage (the cup, as the landskip-painter calls it) is always near the middle: the out-side branches.. are light and airy. |
c. That part of a brassière which is shaped to contain or support one of the breasts. Also
attrib. and
Comb.| 1938 ‘E. Queen’ Four of Hearts (1939) ix. 129 She didn't have to wear a cup-form brassière. 1957 Housewife Sept. 104 Thinnest foam rubber curved in the cups..achieves a natural line by gently contouring the bosom itself. 1959 Ibid. June 28 Marquisette cup section underlined lace. Ibid., A perfect contour bustline..B and C cups. 1959 News Chron. 13 July 6/3 Cup fittings are based on the difference between underbust and full bust measurements. 1970 Times 16 June 7/6 The prettiest and the most alluring and flattering bathing suits are halter-necked with a vertiginous..plunge in the front and very soft, unsupported cups. |
7. Astron. The constellation
crater n.| 1551 Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 269 The Cuppe standeth on the Hydres backe. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. July 19 The Sonne..Making his way betweene the Cuppe, and golden Diademe. 1868 Lockyer Heavens (ed. 3) 326. |
II. Transferred and figurative uses.
8. a. A cup with the liquor it contains; the drink taken in a cup; a cupful. loving-cup (
q.v.), a cup of wine, etc. passed from hand to hand round a company. Also
ellipt. (In
quots. 1952 and 1969,
ellipt. in sense 12 b (ii).)
| 1382 Wyclif Matt. x. 42 Who euer ȝiueth drynke to oon of these leste a cuppe of cold water oonly. 1588 A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 171 b, Quhasaeuer sal giv ony of thais small ains ane coup of watter to drink onelie. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. iii. 85 O knight, thou lack'st a cup of Canarie. 1660 Pepys Diary 28 Sept., I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before. c 1760 Mother Goose's Melody (1785) 19 Take a cup and drink it up, Then call your Neighbours in. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 39 The cups That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each. [See cheer v. 5 c.] 1839 Thirlwall Greece VI. xlviii. 145 A cup of poison had been prepared for him. 1847 C. M. Yonge in Mag. for the Young Sept. 189 There is the kettle..all ready for tea!..Won't you sit down and have a cup, Amy? 1849 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 44 Each of these gentlemen drank four cups of tea. 1952 A. Wilson Hemlock & After i. iii. 51 Anyway, none of it would be your cup, darling. 1969 J. Elliot Duel i. iii. 68 He enjoys his little Royal Society dinners... Not my cup. |
b. spec. The wine taken at the Communion. (
Cf. 2 a.)
| [1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xi. 26 How ofte euere ȝe schulen ete this breed, and schulen drynke the cuppe.] 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxvii. §5 The bread and cup are his body and blood for that they are so to us. 1681–6 J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 307 To communicate with them..in this one Baptism, and one eucharistical Bread and Cup. 1884 J. Candlish Sacraments 91 The wine is described merely as ‘the cup’, ‘the fruit of the vine’. |
c. transf. Drink; that which one drinks.
| 1719 Young Busiris v. i, Weeds are their food, their cup the muddy Nile. |
9. fig. Chiefly in the sense (derived from various passages of Scripture): Something to be partaken of, endured or enjoyed; an experience, portion, lot (painful or pleasurable, more commonly the former).
Cf. chalice 1 b.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter x. 7 He calles þaire pynes a cope, for ilk dampned man sall drynk of þe sorow of hell. Ibid. xv. 5 He is cope of all my delite & ioy. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 134 b, To drynke the cuppe of sorowe. 1534 Tindale Matt. xx. 22 Are ye able to drynke of the cuppe that I shall drynke of? 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 304 All Foes [shall taste] The cup of their deseruings. 1611 Bible Ps. xvi. 5, xxiii. 5, etc. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 288 In folly's cup still laughs the bubble, joy. 1833 Mrs. Browning Prometh. Bound Poems 1850 I. 156, I quaff the full cup of a present doom. 1875 Farrar Silence & V. ii. 40 Filling to the brim the cup of his iniquity. 1879 Froude Cæsar xviii. 293 To drink the bitterest cup of humiliation. |
10. pl. The drinking of intoxicating liquor; potations, drunken revelry.
in one's cups:
† (
a) while drinking, during a drinking-bout (also
† amidst,
† among,
† at,
over one's cups); (
b) in a state of intoxication, ‘in liquor’.
| 1406 Hoccleve La Male Regle 165 For in the cuppe seelden fownden is, Þat any wight his neigheburgh commendith. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 26 Amonge their cuppes they geue iudgement of the wittes of writers. 1611 Bible 1 Esdras iii. 22 And when they are in their cups, they forget their loue both to friends and brethren. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 718 Thence from Cups to civil Broiles. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull ii. iv, She used to come home in her cups, and break the china. 1828 Bentham Let. to Sir F. Burdett Wks. 1843 X. 592, I hear you are got among the Tories, and that you said once you were one of them: you must have been in your cups. 1842 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (ed. 2) V. ii. 22 They..discuss points of doctrine..even..over their cups. 1861 Thackeray Four Georges i. (1876) 19 The jolly Prince..loving his cups and his ease. |
11. A name for various beverages consisting of wine sweetened and flavoured with various ingredients and usually iced; as
claret-cup, etc.
| 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii, Here's a cup, Sir..I have prepared it with my own hands, and I believe you'll own the ingredients are tolerable. 1818 R. Rush Crt. of London (1833) 151 Sir Henry recommended me to a glass of what I supposed wine..but he called it King's cup. 1833 New Monthly Mag. XXXVII. 193 footn., A foaming tankard of cup. Note. Cup is a mixture of beer, wine, lemon, sugar, and spice. 1884 Pall Mall G. 16 Feb. 5/1 Who..could produce bottles of ‘old Johannisberg’ for a guest and make them into cup. |
III. 12. a. Proverbs and Phrases. (See also sense 10.)
between (or betwixt) the cup and the lip: while a thing is yet in hand and on the very point of being achieved. (Now usually
there's many a slip between, etc.)
† such cup, such cover, also
† such a cup, such a cruse: implying similarity between two persons related in some way.
† cup and can: constant or familiar associates (the can being the large vessel from which the cup is filled).
a cup too low: see
quots.| 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 16 Manye thynges fall betweene y⊇ cuppe and the mouth. 1549 Latimer 5th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 143 Such a cup, suche a cruse. She would not depart from hir oun. 1550 Bale Apol. 132 As for your doctours..they are lyke your selfe, as the adage goeth, suche cuppe suche cover. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 49 As cup and can could holde. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew., A Cup too low, when any of the Company are mute or pensive. 1729 Swift Libel on Dr. Delany, You and he are Cup and Cann. 1777 Sheridan Trip Scarb. i. ii, If the devil don't step between the cup and the lip. 1801 Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1802) V. 305 He must..be cup and can with sextons and grave-diggers. 1864 H. Ainsworth John Law Prol. x. (1881) 54 You're a cup too low. A glass of claret will make you feel more cheerful. 1887 T. A. Trollope What I remember I. xii. 256 A whole series of slips between the cup and the lip! |
b. cup of tea (
colloq. phr.): (
i) used of a person.
| 1908 W. De Morgan Somehow Good xvi. 159 ‘It's simply impossible to help liking him.’ To which Sally replied, borrowing an expression from Ann the housemaid, that Fenwick was a cup of tea. It was metaphorical and descriptive of invigoration. a 1909 in Ware Passing Eng. (1909) 101/1 Oh, don't yer though. You are a nice strong cup o' tea. 1939 N. Marsh Overture to Death xi. 120 Miss Prentice..seems to be a very unpleasant cup of tea. Ibid. xxiv. 279 She was a cranky old cup of tea. 1940 A. Christie One, Two, Buckle my Shoe 123 Sounds quite like that old cup of tea who came to see Mrs. Chapman. |
(
ii)
one's cup of tea: what interests or suits one.
| 1932 N. Mitford Christmas Pudding xiv. 211 I'm not at all sure I wouldn't rather marry Aunt Loudie. She's even more my cup of tea in many ways. 1933 P. Fleming Brazilian Adventure I. iii. 31 The desire to benefit the community is never their principal motive...They do it because they want to. It suits them; it is their cup of tea. 1936 Auden & Isherwood Ascent of F6 ii. iii. 96, I had an aunt who loved a plant—But you're my cup of tea! 1937 N. Coward Pres. Indic. iii. v. 121 Broadway by night seemed to be my cup of tea entirely. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair v. 54 Probably she isn't your cup of tea...You have always preferred them a little stupid, and blond. 1965 M. Spark Mandelbaum Gate v. 141 Freddy had stood in the doorway of the dark Orthodox chapel and, regarding the heavy-laden altar and the exotic clusters of coloured lamps hung round it, said, ‘It's not really my cup of tea, you know.’ |
(
iii)
a different cup of tea (and similar expressions): something of an altogether different kind.
| 1940 N. Mitford Pigeon Pie xiii. 215 A Fred racked with ideals, and in the grip of Federal Union, was quite a different cup of tea from the old, happy-go-lucky Fred. 1946 ‘S. Russell’ To Bed with Grand Music i. 20 London in wartime..is a very different cup of tea from Winchester. 1957 Listener 5 Dec. 954/1 The outwitted villain..is quite another cup of tea. |
13. attrib. and
Comb. a. General combinations, as
cup-augury,
cup-maker,
cup-marking;
cup-eyed,
cup-headed,
cup-like,
cup-marked,
cup-shaped adjs.| 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 251 To presage his fate by a sort of *cup-augury involved in examining the grounds of coffee. |
| 1922 T. Hardy Late Lyrics 33 *Cup-eyed care and doubt. |
| 1889 G. Findlay Eng. Railway 46 The spikes [to fasten the chair to the sleeper] are *cup-headed. |
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 114/2 The bodies of the vertebrae terminate in two *cup-like cavities. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 9 A hazelwood..in a cuplike hollow of the down. |
| 14.. Nominale in Wr.-Wülcker 686/22 Hic cipharius, a *cop-maker. 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Cubero, a cup maker. |
| 1889 Chambers' Encycl. III. 618 *Cup-marking on rocks and *cup-marked stones belong to a peculiar class of archaic sculpturings. |
| 1845 Athenæum 22 Feb. 199 *Cup-shaped bodies. |
b. esp. in reference to social drinking or drunkenness (
cf. sense 10): as
cup-acquaintance,
cup-caper,
cup-conqueror,
cup-friendship,
cup-god,
cup-mate,
cup-tossing.
| 1596 Bp. W. Barlow Three Serm. i. 13 Til that same Cup-challenging profession came into our land. Ibid. iii. 119 Wine..swilled by challenging Cupmates. 1599 Soliman & Persida v. in Hazl. Dodsley V. 363 Where is tipsy Alexander, that great cup-conqueror? 1608 D. F. Ess. Pol. & Mor. 83 Cup-friendship, is of too brittle and glassie a substance to continue long. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xviii. v, Only his cup acquaintance. 1842 S. C. Hall Ireland II. 270 She was perfect mistress of the art of cup-tossing. |
c. In sense 2 b, as
cup-taker,
cup-transaction;
cup-day, a day on which a race is run for a cup;
cup horse, a horse that runs for a cup;
cup-tie, a ‘tie’ (
i.e. match or contest between the victors in previous contests) played for a cup; hence
cup-tied a. Assoc. Football, of a player: ineligible to play in cup-ties for the remainder of a season through having already played for another club in the current season's competition.
| 1860 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 27 Aug. (1966) 631 It was Cup Day at Ascot. 1862 London Society II. 98 We travelled [to Ascot] on the Cup day..‘The latest prices’ of the Cup horses. 1879 Black White Wings xvii, The master of one of the Cup takers [a yacht]. 1894 Daily News 26 Feb. 5/1 Those mighty cup-fighters, the Blackburn Rovers. 1895 Ibid. 21 Feb. 5/5 The Wednesday men are noted cup-tie fighters. 1901 Westm. Gaz. 22 Apr. 7/3 A typical ‘cup-fighting’ team. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 329/2 The expression ‘a cup-horse’ is understood to imply an animal capable of distinguishing himself over a long distance at even weights against the best opponents. 1905 Daily Chron. 14 Apr. 8/1 A special brand of play known as ‘the Cup-tie game’. Ibid. 25 Dec. 3/4 Old Internationals and Cup-final players. 1908 Pearson's Weekly 5 Mar. Suppl. p. iii/3 We're playing a cup-tie! 1910 Westm. Gaz. 14 Mar. 14/2 The cup-holders were defeated in their first match. 1963 Times 10 Jan. 3/4 The..good humoured indulgence afforded Hospital cup-ties. 1968 Listener 23 May 681/3 There is something wrong with a game when one of its outstanding young exponents, the new Cup-winners' goalkeeper with Under-23 honours, says about it a few weeks before the Cup Final: ‘The worst time of the week for me is between three o'clock and twenty to five every Saturday afternoon.’ 1970 Times 20 Nov. 18/2 Wakeling, being cup-tied after playing for Corinthian-Casuals, will be missed in midfield, and Richards will probably replace him. 1976 Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 29 Nov. 14/8 Jimmy Greenhoff, Manchester United's {pstlg}120,000 buy from Stoke City, is cup-tied and will not be eligible to play against Everton. |
d. Special combs.
cup-and-cone, (
a) see
quot. 1881; (
b)
Metall., designating a fracture in which one surface of the metal consists of a raised rim enclosing a flat central portion into which the other surface fits;
cup-and-ring, designation of a type of marks found cut in megalithic monuments, consisting of a circular depression surrounded by concentric rings;
cup-and-saucer a., designation of a naturalistic style in the late nineteenth-century theatre, introduced by T. W. Robertson;
cup-and-saucer limpet, collectors' name of the molluscous genus
Calyptræa;
† cup-band, ‘a brace of metal on which masers and handled cups were hung’ (Riley
Liber Albus);
cup-cake orig. U.S., a cake baked from ingredients measured by the cupful, or baked in a small (
freq. paper) cup;
cup-coral (see
coral n.1 1 b);
cup-custard, fluid custard served in glass cups;
cup-defect, the fault in timber of being cup-shaken;
cup-flower, a name for
Scyphanthus elegans, a S. American plant with yellow cup-shaped flowers;
cup-fungus, any discomycetous fungus having a cup-shaped ascocarp;
cf. cup-mushroom;
cup-gall, a cup-shaped gall or excrescence found on oak-leaves;
† cup-glass = cupping-glass (in Bullokar, 1616);
cup-grease, a kind of semi-solid lubricant;
cup-guard, a cup-shaped sword-guard;
cup-head, a hemispherical head to a bolt; hence
cup-headed,
a.;
cup-hilted a., having a cup-guard on the hilt;
cup hook, a hook which is screwed into a wall, shelf, cupboard, etc., and used for hanging up cups, etc.;
cup-leather (see
quots.);
† cup-leech, one addicted to his cups;
cup-lichen = cup-moss a. (in Prior, 1879);
cup-man, a man addicted to cups, a reveller;
cup-mark,
-marking, a shallow cup-like depression found cut in rocks or stone monuments (see 5); also
cup-marked a.;
cup-mouthpiece (see
quot.);
cup-mushroom, ‘a name for various species of
Peziza’ (Britten and Holland);
cup mute, a kind of mute for a trumpet or trombone; so
cup-muted adj.;
cup-plant U.S.,
Silphium perfoliatum of N. America;
cup-plate, see
quot. 1891;
† cup-rite, a libation;
cup-rose,
dial. var. of
cop-rose;
cup-sculpture = cup-marking;
cup-seed, a N. American plant,
Calycocarpum Lyoni (in Miller, 1884), having seeds hollowed out on one side like a cup;
cup-shrimp (see
quot.);
cup-sponge, a kind of sponge shaped like a cup;
cup-sprung a., having the hip-joint dislocated;
† cup-stool;
cup-valve, see
quot.;
† cup-waiter, one who serves liquor at a meal or feast. See cup-and-ball,
cup-bearer, -moss, -shot.
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., *Cup-and-cone. A machine for charging a shaft-furnace, consisting of an iron hopper with a large central opening, which is closed by a cone or bell, pulled up into it from below. 1925 Cup-and-cone fracture [see cuppy a. c]. 1967 A. K. Osborne Encycl. Iron & Steel Industry (ed. 2) 99/2 Cup-and-cone... A type of fracture occurring in tensile test pieces from steels possessing reasonable ductility, and containing no local abnormality where the necking occurs. |
| 1867 J. Y. Simpson Arch. Sculpt. 2 *Cup and ring cuttings. 1875 C. Maclagan Hill Forts Index, Cup and Ring Sculpturings. Ibid. 41 On one monolith..are some ‘cup and ring markings’. 1900 Daily News 11 Oct. 6/1 A rude dial at West Kirby looks like an example of ‘cup and ring stones’. 1919 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. LIII. 23 The cup- and ring-marked stone which was found near this spot. 1963 S. Piggott in Foster & Alcock Culture & Environment iv. 64 The cup-and-ring carvings of Galicia have again been brought into relationship with those of Ireland. |
| 1881 Times 27 Dec. 3/5 It [sc. Albery's Two Roses] has more than the merit, though it has hardly met with the popularity of the ‘*cup and saucer’ comedies of the late Mr. T. W. Robertson. 1892 W. Archer in G. B. Shaw Prefaces (1934) 667/2 The scheme of a twaddling cup-and-saucer comedy. 1933 G. B. Shaw in Shaw on Theatre (1958) 222 The stuffiness of the London cup-and-saucer theatre. |
| 13.. in Liber Albus 609 *Cuppebonde. 1483 Cath. Angl. 75 A Copbande, cru[s]ta. |
| 1828 E. Leslie Receipts 61 *Cup Cake. 1886 Harper's Mag. Dec. 134/2 Cousin Carry with her eternal cup-cake. 1887 M. E. Wilkins Humble Romance 271 Mis' Steele made some cup-cake to-day... She put a cup of butter and two whole cups of sugar in it. 1907 Mrs. Beeton's All about Cookery (new ed.) 216/2 Cup Cakes, Plain (American Recipe)..3 level cupfuls of flour, 1 cupful of sugar, ½ a cupful of butter, 1 cupful of milk... Bake in shallow tins or small cups. 1911 E. Ferber Dawn O'Hara viii. 109 There were little round cup cakes made of almond paste that melts in the mouth. 1957 J. Braine Room at Top viii. 82 The cakes were fresh..meringues, éclairs, chocolate cup-cakes. |
| 1853 San Francisco Whig 28 July 1/4 (Advt.), *Cup Custard. 1862 ‘G. Hamilton’ Country Living & Thinking 72 We had cup-custards at the close of our breakfast that morning. 1867 Mrs. Whitney L. Goldthwaite x. 223 Cup-custards, even, disappeared,—cups and all. |
| 1875 T. Laslett Timber Trees 32 The *cup-defect occurs in perfectly sound and healthy-looking trees. |
| 1910 Encycl. Brit. XI. 341/2 Owing to the shape of the fruit-body many of these forms are known as *cup-fungi, the cup or apothecium often attaining a large size. 1960 R. W. G. Dennis (title) British cup fungi and their allies. 1966 F. H. Brightman Oxf. Bk. Flowerless Plants 150 The Pezizales or Cup Fungi have a spore-producing layer which develops within a more-or-less shallow cup. |
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Cup-galls..a kind of galls found on the leaves of the oak, and some other trees. [1845 Lindley Veg. Kingd. 32 The cup shaped galls, so common in Oak leaves.] |
| 1900 Archbutt & Deeley Lubrication & Lubricants v. 122 ‘*Cup’ greases are usually thickened with soap from either horse fat, cottonseed oil, or rape oil, saponified with lime. 1935 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 14 Nov. 66/2 Large quantities of soft cup greases..are still used for chassis lubrication. 1951 Good Housek. Home Encycl. 187/1 The groove of the frame should be freed..of earth and rust, and packed with..cup-grease. |
| 1929 Encycl. Brit. III. 827/2 The *cup-head or coach-bolt. |
| 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 400/1 Brass *Cup Hooks, Size 5/8 in. 3/4 in. 7/8 in. 1 in. 1925 Black. Mag. Jan. 5/1 He put his pipe to rest in a cup-hook screwed at an angle in the window jamb. 1970 R. Jeffries Dead Man's Bluff xix. 180 A weight had been suspended by running string through a cup hook. |
| 1889 Cent. Dict., *Cup-leather, a piece of leather fastened around the plunger or bucket of a pump. For a bucket it is sleeve-shaped, and for a plunger it is made with a solid bottom. 1904 Goodchild & Tweney Technol. & Sci. Dict. 143/1 Cup leather, a leather ring, produced by forcing a flat ring of leather into a mould. 1930 Engineering 25 July 95/3 They have rams..and..glands with triple cup leathers. |
| 1593 R. Harvey Philad. 52 Cheryn was a drunkard, a *cupleache. |
| 1834 Lytton Pompeii ii. iii, Oh, a friend of mine! a brother *cupman, a quiet dog..said Burbo. |
| 1884 Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. XVIII. 110 Edge of Rock with *Cup-marks. 1919 Ibid. LIII. 22 The fracture on one side cuts across a cup-mark. |
| 1867 Ibid. (1870) VII. 270 A Kist, with a *cup-marked Cover. 1875 C. Maclagan Hill Forts 45 The cup-marked stone figured on Plate XI. 1935 Proc. Prehist. Soc. I. 150 At either end of this are standing stones, one of which is cup-marked. |
| 1867 J. Y. Simpson Arch. Sculpt. 7 In the centres of the remaining six series of circles there are no *cup-markings. 1877 W. Greenwell Brit. Barrows 341 A square piece of the same stone..which has a circular pit or cup-marking on each face. |
| 1911 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 947/1 *Cup-Mouthpieces.—Brass wind instruments are played by means of cup or funnel-shaped mouthpieces, generally made of silver... The shallower the cup the more suitable it is for producing the higher harmonics. |
| 1769 J. Wallis Nat. Hist. Northumb. I. viii. 305 Small, sessile, white, proliferous *Cup-Mushrome. |
| 1955 L. Feather Encycl. Jazz ii. 64 A variety of mutes, including..*cup..mutes. 1961 A. Berkman Singer's Gloss 61 Cup mute, a cone-like mute with an added metal or fibre cup which reduces the volume considerably, producing a fine, pleasing tone. 1967 Crescendo May 8/2 ‘Boss Bambino’ has bossa nova rhythm and cup-muted trombone. |
| 1846 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. (ed. 2) 336 Silphium perfoliatum. *Cup-plant. 1870 Amer. Naturalist IV. 580 Another species of the same genus, called the cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)..is common in the moist ravines. 1968 Peterson & McKenny Field Guide to Wildflowers 184 Cup-plant, Silphium perfoliatum. |
| 1674 Lond. Gaz. No. 863/4 Stoln..Ten Pottage Plates, Three *Cup Plates, Two Sawcers. 1891 Scribn. Mag. Sept. 353/1 Seven saucers, and ten ‘cup-plates’. By cup-plates I mean the little flat saucers in which our grandmothers placed their tea-cups when they poured their tea into the deeper saucers to cool. |
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 102 Iuppiter almighty, whom men Maurusian..with *cuprit's magnifye dulye. |
| 1911 W. T. Calman Life of Crustacea 245 A smaller species..(Leander squilla), and another very similar species..L. adspersus,..are said to be sold on some parts of the English coast as ‘*Cup Shrimps’. |
| 1741 Compl. Fam. Piece iii. 483 For a Lameness in a Cow or Bullock, or when they are Shoulder-pitched, or *Cup-sprung. |
| 1567 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees) 272 One flanders chist, one litle *cupstole, one chare. |
| 1850 Weale Dict. Terms, *Cup-valve, for a steam-engine. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Cup-valve. (Steam-engine.) a. A cup-shaped or conical valve, which is guided by a stem to and from its flaring seat. b. A form of balance-valve which opens simultaneously on top and sides. c. A valve formed by an inverted cup over the end of a pipe or opening. |
| 1611 Speed Hist. Gt. Brit. ix. xiii. (R.), The maior to attend in his own person as chiefe *cup-waiter..to serve the king in a cup of gold. |
▸
Cookery (chiefly
N. Amer.). A measure of capacity equal to the amount it takes to fill a cup;
spec. a standard measure of eight American fluid ounces (½ American pint), used for measuring dry or liquid ingredients by volume;
= cupful n. Additions 2.
| 1857 Genesee (N.Y.) Farmer Feb. 63/2 Three eggs, one cup sugar, one of flour, one teaspoon cream tartar, half do. soda. 1884 M. J. Lincoln Boston Cook Bk. (1887) Introd. 30, 2 gills = 1 cup, or ½ pint. 1913 E. H. Glover Dame Curtsey's Bk. Candy Making v. 34 Divinity fudge. Three and one-half cups of granulated sugar, one-half cup of 90 per cent corn syrup, [etc.]. 1989 A. Willan Reader's Digest Compl. Guide Cookery 502 The standard measures in North America [include]..the eight fluid ounce cup (so called because the water it holds weighs eight ounces). 2003 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 31 May l9/6, 1 cup lentils de puy. |
▪ II. cup, v. (
kʌp)
[f. cup n.] 1. Surg. (
trans.) To apply a cupping-glass to; to bleed by means of a cupping-glass. Also
absol.| 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 32 As a mannys flesh is wont to blede whenne hit is cuppid. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 335 Set a cupping-glasse thereon, and cup it. 1695 Congreve Love for L. i. ii, A beau in a bagnio, cupping for a complexion. 1757 Franklin Let. Wks. 1887 II. 522 They cupped me on the back of the head. 1829 Scott Jrnl. (1890) II. 294 Dr. Ross ordered me to be cupped. |
† 2. a. To supply with cups,
i.e. with liquor; to make drunk, intoxicate.
Obs. rare.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. vii. 124 Cup vs till the world go round. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Wks. (N.), Well entertain'd I was, and halfe well cup'd. |
b. intr. To indulge in ‘cups’; to drink deep.
| c 1625 T. Adams Wks. (1861) I. 484 The former is not more thirsty after his cupping than the latter is hungry after his devouring. 1649–1868 [see cupping 2]. |
3. a. trans. To receive, place, or take as in a cup.
| 1838 J. Struthers Poetic Tales 138 The dew-drop cupped in the cowslip. 1879 J. D. Long æneid viii. 85 He reverently in his hollow hands Cups water from the stream. 1940 Dylan Thomas Portr. Artist 117, I cupped a match to let them see my face in a dramatic shadow. |
c. Golf. To lodge (the ball) in a ‘cup’ or depression of the ground. (See
cup n. 5.) Usu. as
pa. pple. or ppl. adj.| 1896 W. Park Golf 95 A cupped ball gives room for playing one of the finest strokes in golf. 1905 H. Vardon Compl. Golfer 81 When the ball is really badly cupped. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 11 May 12/2 The cleek is only for use when the ball lies cupped. |
4. a. intr. To form a cup; to be or become cup-shaped.
| 1830 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 7) II. 368 Mr. Woodward suggests..that the umbels not cupping is owing to their small size. 1851 Beck's Florist, New Dahlias..petals smooth, and gently cupping to the centre. |
b. Golf. ‘To mark or break (the ground) with the club when striking the ball; also, to strike (the ground) with the club when driving a ball’ (
Jam. Supp.).
Cf. cup n. 5.
5. trans. To make concave or cup-shaped; to form into a cup.
| 1909 G. S. Porter Girl of Limberlost xv. 299 ‘Are you afraid she is going?’ Elnora asked. ‘If you are, cup your other hand over her for shelter.’ 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXVII. 39/2 Power presses for working sheet-metal articles include those for cutting out the blanks, termed cutting-out or blanking presses, and those for cupping or drawing the flat blank into shape. 1954 X. Fielding Hide & Seek 228 The despatcher..cupped his hand to my ear and shouted. |
▸
trans. and
intr. orig. U.S. To judge the quality of (coffee) by tasting it.
Cf. cupping n. Additions.
| 1940 Los Angeles Times 7 Jan. ii. 7/1 All incoming coffee is ‘cupped’, usually many times. 1989 St. Louis (Missouri) Dispatch (Nexis) 15 Jan. (Mag. section) 8 The tasting is blind... When he's finished cupping, he picks up each cup to look at the name. 1990 Atlantic May 118/3, I had visions of cupping..with one of the greats. 2005 Guardian (Nexis) 16 Sept. (Features section) 10 [They] spend part of many days ‘cupping’ the coffee they purchase. |