Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A large ornamental wine vessel, usually made of silver and having two or more handles.
  • noun A large ornamental vessel given as an award in modern sporting contests and similar events.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A wine-cup intended for several persons to drink from and to pass from hand to hand. It is commonly made with several handles. See parting-cup.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • A large ornamental drinking vessel having two or more handles, intended to pass from hand to hand, as at a banquet.
  • an award resembling a loving cup{1} that is given to the winner of a competition.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large cup with two or more handles, passed around for all to drink from; a ceremonial version of such a cup awarded as a trophy.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a large metal vessel with two handles that is awarded as a trophy to the winner of a competition
  • noun a large drinking vessel (usually with two handles) that people drink out of in turn at a banquet

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Named around 1810 for the sense of unity its use brought.

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Examples

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  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

    noun

    Etymology: from its former use in ceremonial drinking

    Date: 1812

    1 : a large ornamental drinking vessel with two or more handles

    2 : a loving cup given as a token or trophy

    February 10, 2008