Cupulate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkəpjulət/

Definitions

1. A form that is shaped like a cup and typically hollow
2. Shaped similarly to a cup with a concave and often open form
3. Exhibiting a structure resembling a small bowl or cup that may hold or contain

Etymology: Cupulate is a botanical and zoological term built from two parts. The first is "cupule," a small cup-shaped structure, such as the woody cup that partly encloses an acorn or the cup-like involucre around some seeds and fruits. That noun comes from the Latin diminutive "cupula," meaning "little cup," itself a diminutive of "cupa," a tub or vat. The second part is the suffix "-ate," which in English adjectives and verbs commonly signals a state or a process, so that "cupulate" describes becoming or forming a cupule. Because the word is a straightforward derivation rather than a coinage with a famous originator, its interest lies mainly in its precision. A plant part that is already a little cup can, through this suffix, be described as the act of making one. The verb is most at home in technical descriptions of plant anatomy, where a writer needs a single word for a structure that develops into a cup shape.