Chalices

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of large drinking cup, often used in religious ceremonies or celebrations
2. A decorative vessel typically made from precious metals or ornate materials, symbolizing importance during rituals
3. An ornate goblet used in various cultural and spiritual contexts, often associated with sacred rites and gatherings

Etymology: The plural "chalices" is simply the regular plural of "chalice," so the story belongs to the singular. Its ancestor is the Latin "calix," a plain cup, and the word's own origin is genuinely uncertain. Scholars have proposed a Proto-Italic root that also gave a word for a sacrificial vessel in Umbrian, an ancient language of central Italy, which would make the cup's religious associations older than the English word itself. An alternative theory traces it to a Greek word for a drinking vessel, "kulix," possibly mixed with a Greek word for a seed pod, "kalux," which gives "calyx" in English. Latin "calix" passed into Old French as "chalice," with "calice" as a close variant, and Middle English borrowed the word through Anglo-Norman. The English form was "chalis," and the modern spelling settled later. The word has a loose sibling in the English "calyx," the cup-shaped structure at the base of a flower, and a shared Latin ancestor links them.

Synonyms: cups, goblets, vessels, trophies, receptacles