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Are "cup" and "glass" the same in English? Can I call a "glass" a cup made of plastic?

tchrist
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The Student
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  • Cups and mugs generally have handles. Glasses and beakers generally don't. There are exceptions (like beer glasses, which are glasses even when they have handles). – Andrew Leach Jul 24 '12 at 13:28
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    A dictionary definition for cup reads: A concave vessel for drinking from, usually made of opaque material (as opposed to a glass). The equivalent for glass reads: A vessel from which one drinks, especially one made of glass, plastic, or similar translucent or semi-translucent material. – coleopterist Jul 24 '12 at 13:30
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    I know this isn't the technical definition, but when I hear "cup" I think of a short cylindrical container with a handle, as in a coffee cup or a tea cup. When I hear "glass" I think of a taller, more conical container without a handle, as in a glass of water or a glass of beer. – Kevin Jul 24 '12 at 15:04
  • Don’t know that this counts as GenRef, given how poor a job most dictionaries do here. – tchrist Jul 24 '12 at 15:25
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    Isn't a glass made out of glass? And a cup is not? – Mitch Jul 24 '12 at 15:55
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    It’s interesting that there is disagreement over this. To my (New England) mind, a glass is always unequivocally made of glass, and a cup is more generally anything cup-shaped—you could have a glass cup, for instance. And a drinking container with a handle is a cup if it isn’t a mug. – Jon Purdy Jul 24 '12 at 16:18
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    I think this is a case where a general reference question nevertheless has an interesting answer that is not covered very well by most reference sources: when does shape take precedence (so that a plastic glass-shaped drinking vessel is just a "glass") and when does material take precedence (so that if it's made of plastic, it can only ever be a "cup", even if its shape is identical to a glass)? – Marthaª Jul 24 '12 at 16:45
  • I think all the answers here are too simplistic, they give a feature, tell us that this feature is for cups or glasses, and don't take into account the exceptions, and why they are exceptions (it seems it can be analyzed and some common traits could be found) – Quidam Dec 07 '19 at 17:29
  • And nobody analyzed the etymology of the words, and their history. – Quidam Dec 07 '19 at 17:30

7 Answers7

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The shapes are variable, but the meanings converge on Prototypes.

In a classic set of experiments in 1973, Labov showed how this works with cup and mug.

Labov, William. 1973. 'The Boundaries of Words and Their Meanings' in R. Fasold (ed), Variation in the Form and Use of Language: A Sociolinguistics Reader. Georgetown University Press, 1983.

To summarize the relevant points, no, cup and glass are not the same in English. Yes, you can call a cup made of plastic a glass, depending on the context.

Kit Z. Fox
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John Lawler
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    Fascinating. But for those of us how have just a little more time, could you expand on that a little? ;-)

    By the way, I had a look at your archive of alt.usage.english postings. Learnt a lot. Thanks!

     – Pitarou Jul 25 '12 at 05:01
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To me, a cup is a general term. Mugs are a type of cup with thick sides and a often a handle. I would call beer steins or coffee mugs specializations of this type. A glass is a type of cup, usually glass, often with thinner sides and usually no handle, but it may or may not have a stem. A tumbler doesn't have a stem. A wine glass does. I guess a paper cup might be considered a tumbler, but it's not a glass.

Bottles, jugs, and thermoses are containers for drinks but not cups.

JCooper
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The crucial, and rather obvious, difference is that a cup is normally made of earthenware or porcelain and a glass is made of, well, glass.

Barrie England
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    That is certainly the etymology of the words, but today, if short and has a handle, it's a cup; if it's tall or lacks a handle, it's a glass, regardless of construction. – Michael Lorton Jul 24 '12 at 15:19
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    @Malvolio: Not, at least in the case of a glass, where I live. – Barrie England Jul 24 '12 at 15:32
  • well, where do you live? (Barrie Olde England? Sorry...) – Michael Lorton Jul 24 '12 at 15:33
  • @Malvolio: Hampshire, UK. – Barrie England Jul 24 '12 at 15:57
  • Strangely, you can have a “plastic glass” or a “plastic cup”, but only a “metal cup”, not (ever?) a “*metal glass”. I wonder why. – tchrist Jul 24 '12 at 15:57
  • @tchrist: For me, all metal containers for drinking from are mugs, if we leave aside such exotica as goblets and chalices. – Barrie England Jul 24 '12 at 16:43
  • A metal drinking vessel is either a tankard or a goblet/chalice. A mug has to be ceramic (or, rarely, glass). And then there's the shot glass, which is still a shot glass even if it's made of metal, jade, wood, or ice. – Marthaª Jul 24 '12 at 16:50
  • There were metal glasses common in the 1950s made of aluminum. They were usually flared at the top, held about 12 oz. and were often used in outdoor settings such as pool or patio serving. I suspect there still are some metal glasses. – bib Jul 24 '12 at 17:43
  • @Marthaª what about a metal "kiddush cup" – Charles Jul 24 '12 at 17:47
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    @Marthaª: You were clearly never a boy scout or in the British army. – Barrie England Jul 24 '12 at 17:50
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    @Barrie: Yes -- a metal mug, white enamel with a blue rim and handle. I remember. At least, I remember my father's. – Andrew Leach Jul 24 '12 at 18:00
  • Actually, I do remember those Boy Scout-style enameled mugs (and plates, and bowls, and pots...). I think it's the enamel: if it looks like it could be ceramic, even if it's actually made of plastic or metal or whatever, you can call it a mug. If it looks like it's made of metal, it's either a tankard (if it has a handle), a goblet/chalice (if it has a stem), or a cup (if it's just a plain cylinder). – Marthaª Jul 24 '12 at 20:46
  • Yes, but it's not a difference anymore with the exceptions. Why they are called "plastic cup" and not "plastic glass" usually if it's the case? they aren't earthware, and they don't have handles. – Quidam Dec 07 '19 at 17:26
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No a cup and a glass are different shapes.

Even a copy of a glass, the same shape and size, made of plastic is called a glass. So if you buy beer but want to take it outside to drink in the beer-garden you normally have to have it in a plastic glass

cite: Pubs warn over plastic pints plan

mgb
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    I don't agree. Unless it's made of glass or something very similar to glass that shatters, I'd be inclined to call it a cup or beaker. – Jez Jul 24 '12 at 14:53
  • I don't think you would be understood if you went into a pub and asked for a beaker of beer. – mgb Jul 24 '12 at 14:57
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    No, but we don't ask for a glass of beer here either - we ask for a pint or something. – Jez Jul 24 '12 at 15:12
  • I'd call a clear (or colored but transparent) plastic cup a glass, particularly if it is made from thick plastic. – Kit Z. Fox Jul 24 '12 at 19:11
  • Yes, but why a plastic cup is called like that, and very rarely a plastic glass? – Quidam Dec 07 '19 at 17:27
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The difference is that a cup is stouter and a glass is narrower. You might say that the cup more closely approximates a cube, but the glass a (tall) cylinder.

tchrist
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Cups and mugs have handles. Glasses, regardless of what they are made of, do not.

Annette
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    What about traditional beer glasses? They have handles. – Mari-Lou A Feb 23 '14 at 10:37
  • @Mari-LouA, to add to the confusion, these vessels are in fact jugs. – Brian Hooper Feb 23 '14 at 10:56
  • @BrianHooper But surely a jug is a large container from which you pour out water, milk, beer etc. into smaller glasses or cups. In the US they'd be called pitchers. Googled: Beer mugs are the more appropriate definitions https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-a&hs=8ZY&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=sb&biw=1366&bih=613&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=beer+mugs&oq=beer+mugs&gs_l=img.3..0l10.33932.34451.0.36219.2.2.0.0.0.0.255.499.2-2.2.0....0...1c.1.35.img..0.2.498.2KihB4I7WB4 – Mari-Lou A Feb 23 '14 at 11:08
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    I've never thought of mugs being possibly made of glass. Very confusing! – Mari-Lou A Feb 23 '14 at 11:12
  • @Mari-LouA, yes, they are sometimes called mugs, but see also here, although that article does also refer to conical glasses, which I have never heard of by that name; they are in fact sleevers; I suspect there is some regional terminology involved as well. – Brian Hooper Feb 23 '14 at 11:58
  • This answer cites no references, and adds nothing that hasn't been covered by existing answers. It's just an opinion, which should be converted to a comment. – FumbleFingers Feb 23 '14 at 23:51
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In my experience, those large blue and red plastic containers for liquid (ubiquitous at large outdoor parties, keggers, etc.) are called 'cups' - not glasses, and certainly not mugs. The shape is well outside the boundaries of Lubov's prototype cup. Perhaps in this case the flimsy and very un-glasslike nature of the plastic is more pertinent than the shape? When it contains beer it could be called a 'glass of beer' - function over form ;) or more often just 'a beer' but when empty it is a 'cup'.

On the other hand, a hard plastic container shaped like a glass, whether clear or opaque, tall or squat, is commonly called a 'glass' where I come from.

Ignatz
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