cupboard
/ˈkʌbəɹd/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.44 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A board or table used to openly hold and display silver plate and other dishware; a sideboard; a buffet.
Obsolete
Example Sentences
- "Cupboꝛde of plate or to ſette plate upon buffet z ma."
- "from the cobbarde byſyde owr dyninge table"
- "Now when the maids and pages all were gone, / One onely lampe upon the cubbard burning[…]"
- "But howe comme to pas, / Your cupbord that was / Is tourned to glasse, / From syluere to brasse, / From golde to pewter, / Or els to a newter, / To copper, to tyn, / To lede, or alcumyn?"
- "Put the cups back into the cupboard."
- "Cupborde to putte meate in – dressover s, m."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English cuppeborde, cupbord. By surface analysis, cup + board. Phonetic variants show that the /p/ in the original forms had assimilated to the present-day /b/ by the 16th century; the etymological spelling has, however, dominated from the 18th century.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: cuppeborde
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkʌbəɹd/
- British English: /ˈkʌbəd/
Usage
Inflected Forms
cupboards (plural)
cobbarde (alternative, obsolete)
cobbourd (alternative, obsolete)
coberde (alternative, obsolete)
cobord (alternative, obsolete)
copbord (alternative, obsolete)
copborde (alternative, obsolete)
copbourd (alternative, obsolete)
copbourde (alternative, obsolete)
copburd (alternative, obsolete)
copburde (alternative, obsolete)
couborde (alternative, obsolete)
Derived Forms
Phrases
airing cupboard
boiler cupboard
broom cupboard
court-cupboard
cry cupboard
cupboard cloth
cupboard door
cupboard faith