cuppa

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkʊp.pa]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkup.pa]^[1]

Forms

cuppa f (genitive cuppae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a Late and Vulgar Latin form of Classical cūpa “tub, cask, vat”, perhaps influenced by Frankish ⟨*kopp⟩ “bowl”.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot gives cūpa or cuppa from Varro, Cicero and Caesar, of a large wooden vessel, a cask.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin cūpa was a large wooden vessel, a cask or vat, and a sarcophagus.^[3] The OLD treats cuppa under cūpa.^[2]

In Medieval Latin cuppa meant a tub, a cup or beaker, and a measure.^[4] Late Latin cuppa “cup” gave Old English cuppe and English cup, and it survives in Italian coppa, French coupe, Spanish copa and Romanian cupă.^[5][1]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses cūpa of a cask.^[3][6]
• Old English period – cuppe “cup” is borrowed from Late Latin cuppa.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cask, tub.^[3]
2. (Late Latin) A cup, beaker.^[4][5]

Related words

• cūpa
• English cup

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de