Etymologically
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cuppa

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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]

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