Cup - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

CUP (in O.E. cuppe; generally taken to be from Late Lat. cuppa, a variant of Lat. cupa, a cask, cf. Gr. K17rEXXov), a drinking vessel, usually in the form of a half a sphere, with or without a foot or handles. The footless type with a single handle is preserved in the ordinary tea-cup. The cup on a stem with a base is the usual form taken by the cup as used in the celebration of the eucharist, to which the name "chalice" (Lat. calix, Gr. r i)Xt, a goblet) is generally given. (See DRINKING VESSELS and PLATE.)