Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CUP, n. [Sax. cop or cupp; D. kop; Dan. id.; Sw. kopp; Fr. coupe; Arm. coupen; It. coppa; Sp. copa; Ir. capa; or capan; W. cwb, cwpan; L. cupa, cuppa, whence cupella, a cupel, a little cup; Ch. כוב kub; Ar. كُوبٌ kubon. Class Gb, No. 48. See also No. 6. The primary sense may be, hollow, bending, Russ. kopayu, or containing; most probably the latter, and allied to L. capio. See No. 50, 52, 68, and Coop.]

1. A small vessel of capacity, used commonly to drink out of. It is usually made of metal; as, a silver cup; a tin cup. But the name is also given to vessels of like shape, used for other purposes. It is usually more deep than wide; but tea-cups and coffee-cups are often exceptions.
2. The contents of a cup; the liquor contained in a cup, or that it may contain; as, a cup of beer. See 1 Cor. xi.
3. In a Scriptural sense, sufferings and afflictions; that which is to be received or endured. O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. – Matth. xxvi.
4. Good received; blessings and favors. My cup runneth over. – Ps. xxiii. Take the cup of salvation, that is, receive the blessings of deliverance and redemption with joy and thanksgiving. – Cruden. Brown.
5. Any thing hollow like a cup; as, the cup of an acorn. The bell of a flower, and a calyx is called a flower-cup.
6. A glass cup or vessel used for drawing blood in scarification. Cup and can, familiar companions; the can being the large vessel out of which the cup is filled, and thus the two being constantly associated. – Swift. Cups, in the plural, social entertainment in drinking; merry bout. Thence from cups to civil broils. – Milton.