noun · neutersecond declension
pōculum
pōculum n (genitive pōculī)
Classical[ˈpoː.kʊ.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔː.ku.lum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- a drinking cup
Vīsne pōculum merī?
Would you like a cup of strong wine? - as used in context to describe the experience of social drinking: having a drink, etc.
Mē vērō et magisteria dēlectant ā maiōribus īnstitūta, et is sermō, quī mōre maiōrum ā summō adhibētur in pōculō; et pōcula, sīcut in Symposiō Xenophontis est, minūta atque rōrantia […].
As for me, I truly delight in both the presiding roles [at banquets], as established by our ancestors, and in that style of conversation which, by ancient custom, is led from the head of the couch during the wine; and [I enjoy] the cups — just as [they are described] in Xenophon’s Symposium — small in size and filled by driblets. (The first poculo is a metonymy in which the cup itself represents the social event or experience: “over a cup,” “while having a cup,” “at the party,” “during the wine,” “while the wine is flowing.” The second instance refers to Xenophon’s Symposium, 2.26, which suggests an optimal amount of alcohol to serve party guests.)106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 14.46
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
parvum vās ex quō bibimus.pōculum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Cibus et Convīvium
vās bibendīpōculum -ī (n) — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 13
id ex quō bibimuspōculum -ī (n) — in Metamorphoses I, †
cup
pōculum -ī — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 7
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Poculum · Calix · Scyphus · Simpuvium · Cyathus · Crater
1. Poculum and calix denote, as old Latin words, any sort of drinking vessel, merely with reference to its use; poculum, a usual cup for meals; calix, a rarer chalice, or goblet, for feasts; whereas scyphus, cantharus, cymbium, culigna, are foreign words, of Greek origin, denoting particular sorts of cups, with reference to their form. 2. Poculum, etc. all serve as drinking cups; whereas the old Roman word simpuvium, and the modern cyathus, are ladles to fill the pocula from the crater, as with the punch-ladle we fill the punch-glasses from the punch-bowl. (v. 318.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | pōculum | pōcula pōcla |
| genitive | pōculī pōclī | pōculōrum pōclōrum |
| dative | pōculō pōclō | pōculīs pōclīs |
| accusative | pōculum | pōcula pōcla |
| ablative | pōculō pōclō | pōculīs pōclīs |
| vocative | pōculum | pōcula pōcla |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- inter pocula
- whilst drinking; at table.
- exhaurire poculum
- to empty a cup at a draught.
- propīno tibi hoc (poculum, salutem)
- I drink your health.
- poculum mortis (mortiferum) exhaurire (Cluent. 11. 31)
- to drain the cup of poison.
pōcŭlum (contr. pōclum, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 80; 89; Arn. 5, 175), i, n. from root po-, pot; Gr. πίνω, v. potus.
I. Lit., a drinking-vessel, a cup, goblet, bowl, beaker (class.;
syn.: calix, cyathus): et nobis idem Alcimedon duo pocula fecit, Verg. E: 3, 44: poculum grande, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 89: magnis poculis aliquem invitare, id. Rud. 2, 3, 32: exhaurire poculum, to empty, Cic. Clu. 11, 31; so, ducere, Hor. C. 1, 17, 21: siccare, Petr. 92: poscunt majoribus poculis (sc. bibere), out of goblets, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 26, § 66: stans extra poculum caper, i.e. in relief, Juv. 1, 76; cf. id. 5, 43.—Prov.: eodem poculo bibere, i. e. to undergo the same sufferings, Plaut. Cas. 5, 2, 52.—II. Transf.
A. A drink, draught, potion (mostly poet.):
si semel poculum amoris accepit meri, Plaut. Truc. 1, 1, 22: salsa pocula, sea-water, id. Rud. 2, 7, 31: pocula sunt fontes liquidi, Verg. G. 3, 529: amoris poculum, i. e. a philter, Hor. Epod. 5, 38; also, desiderii, id. ib. 17, 80: prae poculis nescientes, through drunkenness, Flor. 2, 10, 2: pocula praegustare, Juv. 6, 633: poculum ex vino, Vulg. Cant. 8, 2.—B. A drinking-bout, a carouse (class.):
in ipsis tuis immanibus poculis, Cic. Phil. 2, 25, 63; cf.: is sermo, qui more majorum a summo adhibetur in poculis, while drinking, id. Sen. 14, 46.—Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
pōculum ī, n
PO-, a drinking-vessel, cup, goblet, bowl, beaker : haec argento circumcludunt atque pro poculis utuntur, Cs.: ducere, H.: poscunt maioribus poculis (sc. bibere), out of goblets : stantem extra pocula caprum, i. e. in relief , Iu.— A drink, draught, potion : uxori cum poculum dedisset, i. e. the poison : ad insidiosa vocatus pocula, O.: amoris, i. e. a philter , H.: pocula praegustare, Iu.— A drinking-bout, carouse : immania: sermo, qui adhibetur in poculo, while drinking : inter pocula laeti, V.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *pōklom, from Proto-Indo-European *péh₃tlom, derived from the root *peh₃- (“to drink”) (whence also bibō). It is possible that an earlier form of the word prior to the sound change of *-tl- > *-kl- was loaned into Etruscan putlumza. Cognate with Old Irish ól, and Sanskrit पात्र (pātra).
Descendants
- Englishpoculum
- Italianpoculo
- Portuguesepúcaro
- Spanishbúcarofrom Portuguese púcaro
- Italianbuccherofrom Portuguese púcaro
- Englishbuccherofrom Portuguese púcaro
- Italianbuccarofrom Portuguese púcaro
- Spanishpóculo
- Etruscanputlumza
- Galicianpúcaro