Pocula

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small cup or vessel often used for drinking
2. typically refers to a shallow container that can hold liquid or food
3. can also denote a ceremonial or ornamental drinking vessel in historical contexts

Etymology: "Pocula" is the plural of "poculum", a Latin word for a drinking cup or vessel. In English it is used mainly by scholars and in classical contexts, where it refers to several cups at once, as in references to a set of ancient drinking vessels. The Latin singular "poculum" was itself a drinking vessel, and the word belongs to a family of Latin terms tied to drinking and cups. English took it directly from Latin, so it kept the classical form rather than being reshaped by French or Old English as many everyday cup words were. Its close relative in English is "bucchero", a type of black Etruscan pottery, which is a doublet of this word: the two came into English by separate routes from the same Latin source, one through a different language and one more directly, which is why they look and sound so different.