Etymology Map
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Cup

2 stages from Late Latin to English.

Today it means a small bowl-shaped container for drinking from; a trophy

Where does the word "cup" come from? It comes from Late Latin cuppa, adopted directly into English (1300s).

1
Stage 1 of 2
cuppa
Late Latin · late antiquity
"cup"
a variant of cupa 'tub, cask'; the 4th-century Roman glass Lycurgus Cup in the British Museum changes colour from green to red when lit from within
2
Stage 2 of 2
cup
English · 1300s
"drinking vessel; trophy"
borrowed into Old English as cuppe and reinforced by Old French coupe; the FA Cup, first contested in 1871-72, is the oldest national football competition in the world
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Cup’s story begins in Late Latin: cuppa meant “cup.” A variant of cupa 'tub, cask'; the 4th-century Roman glass Lycurgus Cup in the British Museum changes colour from green to red when lit from within. It reached English by 1300s as cup. Borrowed into Old English as cuppe and reinforced by Old French coupe; the FA Cup, first contested in 1871-72, is the oldest national football competition in the world. Today, cup means a small bowl-shaped container for drinking from; a trophy.