cup

Everyday

1. A cup is a small container with a handle that you drink from. tree →
2. A cup is the amount a cup holds, also a unit in recipes: a cup of flour. tree →
3. A cup is a prize in a sport, often shaped like a big cup: the World Cup. tree →

In the lessons

a thing on the table (not a fruit); a container («each cup holds 3 sweets» = size of one group); in cooking «2 cups of milk» is a measure; in sport the cup final; in everyday life «a cup of tea», «not my cup of tea» (not what I like)

Examples

• I place one cup on the table. tree →
• Student: one cup and one pear tree →
• Each cup holds 3 sweets. How many sweets are in 5 cups? tree →
• Would you like a cup of hot chocolate? tree →
• Add two cups of flour to the bowl. tree →
• Our team won the cup! tree →
• Be careful: the cup is hot. tree →
• She cupped the little bird in her hands. tree →
• Then he filled the cup again. tree →

Note

Not a fruit, so it does not count in «how many fruits». Trap: «cups of flour» counts the flour, and the cups are its measure. Hot cups can burn; hold them by the handle.

In Jewish tradition

Besides drinking cups, it names the cup-shaped parts of the golden lampstand, shaped like almond blossoms. It is also Pharaoh's cup held by his butler. In the Prophets and Psalms a cup is a picture of a person's share or fate, such as an inheritance, salvation, or God's punishment.

Interpretation. The lampstand (menorah) with its almond-blossom cups is a symbol of Judaism. Later tradition also uses the cup in blessings, such as the wine of Kiddush. Tradition reads the "cup of salvation" as thanks to God, and a cup of punishment as a share of judgment.

Examples

• And in the candlestick four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof. (Torah EXO.25.34, JPS 1917) tree →
• And in the candlestick were four cups made like almond-blossoms, the knops thereof, and the flowers thereof; (Torah EXO.37.20, JPS 1917) tree →
• And he restored the chief butler back unto his butlership; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. (Torah GEN.40.21, JPS 1917) tree →
• O LORD, the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup, Thou maintainest my lot. (Writings PSA.16.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD. (Writings PSA.116.13, JPS 1917) tree →
• In the way of thy sister hast thou walked; therefore will I give her cup into thy hand. (Prophets EZK.23.31, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Not a fruit, so it does not count in «how many fruits». Trap: «cups of flour» counts the flour, and the cups are its measure. Hot cups can burn; hold them by the handle.