tea-cup (n.)

"small vessel used to contain liquids generally; drinking vessel," Old English cuppe, Old Northumbrian copp, from Late Latin cuppa "cup" (source of Italian coppa, Spanish copa, Old French coupe "cup"), from Latin cupa "tub, cask, tun, barrel," which is thought to be cognate with Sanskrit kupah "hollow, pit, cave," Greek kype "gap, hole; a kind of ship," Old Church Slavonic kupu, Lithuanian kaupas "heap," Old Norse hufr "ship's hull," Old English hyf "beehive." De Vaan writes that all probably are from "a non-IE loanword *kup- which was borrowed by and from many languages."

The Late Latin word was borrowed throughout Germanic: Old Frisian kopp "cup, head," Middle Low German kopp "cup," Middle Dutch coppe, Dutch kopje "cup, head." German cognate Kopf now means exclusively "head" (compare French tête, from Latin testa "potsherd").

Used of any thing with the shape of a cup by c. 1400; sense of "quantity contained in a cup" is from late 14c. Meaning "part of a bra that holds a breast" is from 1938. Sense of "cup-shaped metal vessel offered as a prize in sport or games" is from 1640s. Sense of "suffering to be endured" (late 14c.) is a biblical image (Matthew xx.22, xxvi.39) on the notion of "something to be partaken of."

To be in one's cups "intoxicated" is from 1610s (Middle English had cup-shoten "drunk, drunken," mid-14c.). [One's] cup of tea "what interests one" is by 1932, earlier used of persons (1908), the sense being "what is invigorating." Cup-bearer "attendant at a feast who conveys wine or other liquor to guests" is from early 15c.

1650s, tay, "prepared leaves of the tea plant," also "an infusion of prepared tea leaves used as a beverage," also in early spellings thea, tey, tee and at first pronounced so as to rhyme with obey (Pope); pay (Gay). The modern pronunciation predominates from mid-18c.

The word is earliest in English as chaa (1590s), also cha, tcha, chia, cia (compare cha, chai). The two forms reflect two paths of transmission: chaa, etc. are from Portuguese cha, via Macao, from Mandarin (Chinese) ch'a. The later form, which became Modern English tea, is via Dutch thee, from Malay teh and directly from Chinese (Amoy dialect) t'e, which corresponds to Mandarin ch'a.

The modern English form (along with French thé, Spanish te, German Tee, etc.) reflects the role of the Dutch as chief importers of the leaves in that part of Europe (through the Dutch East India Company, from 1610). Meanwhile, Russian chai, Persian cha, Greek tsai, Arabic shay, and Turkish çay all came by overland trade routes from the Mandarin form.

Tea was known in Paris by 1635; the practice of drinking it was introduced in England by 1644. The word was extended by 1660s to the tea plant itself, also to similar infusions of the parts of other plants. The slang meaning "marijuana" (which sometimes was brewed in hot water) is attested by 1935, felt as obsolete by late 1960s.

The meaning "late afternoon meal at which tea is served" is by 1738. Tea-bottle as English slang for "old maid" is attested by 1909. To not do something for all the tea in China "not for anything" is colloquial, attested by 1947 in Australian English, said to date from 1890s.

also teapot, "vessel in which tea is made or from which it is poured," 1660s, from tea + pot (n.1). The children's song beginning "I'm a little tea-pot" is attested by 1943. The figurative tempest in a teapot is attested by 1818 (see tempest; metaphoric storm in a tea-cup is attested by 1775). The U.S. Teapot Dome scandal erupted in 1922.