cupbearer
/ˈkʌpˌbɛəɹə/
"cupbearer" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cupbearer” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - One who ceremonially fills and hands out the cups in which a drink is served.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cupbearer · cupbearer · English
cupbearer · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cupbearer |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkʌpˌbɛəɹə/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “cupbearer” in English
Rare enough to double-check
cupbearer is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈkʌpˌbɛəɹə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "One who ceremonially fills and hands out the cups in which a drink is served.".
No misspelling variants are generated for cupbearer in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From cup + bearer; attested since 1483. The correct English form is cupbearer, spelled C-U-P-B-E-A-R-E-R.
Definition
- 1One who ceremonially fills and hands out the cups in which a drink is served.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cupbearer appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[W]hile the King [Edward the Confessor] and Godwine [Godwin, Earl of Wessex] ſate at the table, accompanied with others of the nobilitie, it chanced the Cupbearer (as he brought wine to the bourd) to ſlip with the one foote, and yet by good ſtrength of his other leg, to recouer himſelfe without falling: [...]
[P]rosper, I pray thee, thy ſeruant this day, and grant him mercie in the ſight of this man. For I was the kings cup-bearer.
Etymology
From cup + bearer; attested since 1483.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.