English → Latin
“cup” in Latin
pōculuma drinking cup; as used in context to describe the experience of social drinking: having a drink, etc.calixcup, chalice; cooking pot; small pipescyphuscup, goblet; communion cupcalathuswicker basket; milk pail (or any of several other containers of a similar shape/size)cantharusa large drinking vessel with handles hanging down, tankard; a kind of sea-fish, possibly a black seabream (Spondyliosomacapiōto take, to capture, to catch, to seize, to take captive, to storm; to take on, adopt; to hold, to containcapēdōa bowl or cup used in sacrificescapulōto cut off, sever; to cut out; to fell (a tree)phialasaucer (or similar broad, flat bowl); a censer, thuriblepateraA broad, flat dish, saucer, bowl, or vessel, used especially for libations during a religious rite or sacrifice
The English word cup itself goes back to Latin cūpa, through cuppa.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
cup
vas potorium: poculum (general term): poculum majus (of a larger size): calix (κύλιξ, beaker, of clay, glass, or metal, with one or more pointed spouts to it, Juv., 5, 47; calix quatuor nasorum): scyphus (σκύφυς, a larger drinking-vessel, without legs and ears; this was also used at sacrifices, and was either of wood or metal): calathus (κάλαθος, like the expanded cup of a lily; Vid: Voss, Verg., Ecl., 5, 71): cantharus (κάνθαρος, a sort of jug, of a largish size, swelling out in the middle, and with ears, made of clay, stone, or metal; it was particularly consecrated to Bacchus, although it was also made use of on common occasions): capis: capedo: capula (a small cup with ears to it, made of clay, wood, metal, for sacted and profane use, although in the latter case considered as a rarity or article of luxury): phiala (φιάλη, a vessel with a broad, flat bottom, artificially wrought of fine metal or stone): patera (a cup with a still flatter bottom than the phiala, like which it was made of some precious metal, etc.): ciborium (κιβώριον, in the shape of the pericarp of the Egyptian laburnum): carchesium (καρχήσιον, a tall cup, diminishing in circumference towards the middle, with ears, reaching down from the brim to the foot): scaphium (in the shape of a boat): cymbrium (also in the shape of a boat, though somewhat different from the scaphium): batiola (a larger vessel, made of gold): culullus (a clay goblet used by the pontifices and vestals at their sacred services; then, also, a small jug of gold, used by the wealthy): scutula or scutella (a flat square plate in the shape of a rhombus, also used as a drinking-vessel): cyathus (a small vessel used for pouring wine from the “crater,” in which it was mixed, into the cups of the guests; Vid: Hor., Od., 3, 19, 12). A small cup, pocillum (Cat., and Liv.): to empty a cup at one draught or full, poculum, etc., uno impetu epotare: cups, pocula, plur.; vasa potoria, plur.: silver cups, argentum potorium; potoria argentea: gold cups, potoria aurea. PROV. “There’s many a slip ‘twixt the cup, and the lip” [Vid. SLIP, s.] .
Tea-cup, *pocillum ansatum in scutella positum (cup and saucer); from the context, *pocillum ansatum only.
Calix of a flower, doliolum floris (Plin.); calathus (later and poetical only). [☞ Calix is not found in this sense.]
FIG. The cup of sorrows; e.g., to empty the cup of sorrows to the dregs, exanclare omnes labores (“less correctly exantlare.” Freund.).
By metonymy, for WINE: to like a cup, vino deditum esse: vino indulgere: over his cups, in poculis: in media, potione: inter scyphos or pocula: ad vinum. A stirrup-cup, or parting-cup, perhaps *poculum viaticum (after cena viatica, Plaut., which was given to a friend about to set out on a journey): To have had a cup too much, bene potum esse; vino gravem, or vini (☞ not vino) plenum esse.
cup v.
per cucurbitulas alicui sanguinem detrahere (by means of cupping); also cucurbitulas admovere, or imponere or accommodare, or aptare, or agglutinare corpori (= to apply cupping-glasses).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for cup?
- The usual Latin words for “cup” are pōculum, calix, scyphus; also calathus, cantharus, capiō. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.