|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
My favorite television cook used the word cupboard today, and that got me thinking about a couple of things:
1.) is there a difference between a cupboard and a cabinet;
2.) she pronounced it cubberd, as I guess most people do, which reminded me of clapboard which is pronouced here as clabberd (not to be confused with clabbered, as with milk);
3.) how did board come into both of these uses? I presume cupboard originated from being near the board, or table, but I don't really know this, let alone the clapboard connection (if there is one).
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963 |
1) I think that cupboard and cabinet are nearly interchangeable, certainly in kitchen use; Otherwise, a cabinet might tend to be a bit fancier, perhaps more for display purposes than simple storage.
2) The pronunciations I use are cubberd and clabberd, although CLAP-board is not unknown. I've never heard CUP-board except humorously.
3) I believe that the board in cupboard is a shelf on which cups are set or stored; clapboard is overlapping wooden siding for a building, so, again, it's literally a board.
Peter
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2 |
I use cabinet, seldom cupboard, except when trying to be very specific about something to someone.
----please, draw me a sheep----
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
I hadn't considered this before now, but I seem to use cupboard for the shelving in our pantry, which look very much like our kitchen cabinets.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
|
OP
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613 |
clapboard is overlapping wooden siding for a building, so, again, it's literally a board. Hey--so named, perhaps, because you grab each board and clap it up against the house?
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963 |
Merriam-Webster: Partial translation of Dutch klaphout : klappen, to split, crack + Middle Dutch holt, board
Oxford Dictionaries: early 16th century (denoting a piece of oak used for barrel staves or wainscot): partial translation of Low German klappholt 'barrel stave', from klappen 'to crack' + holt 'wood'
But yeah, Jackie, I think you're right.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2 |
Asking some people here whom I know, they seem to see a cupboard as a free-standing piece of furniture with doors, either wooden or glass. A cabinet seems to be used for an enclosed place for dishes and the like, attached to a wall. This is just the opinions I've found in this part of the world.
----please, draw me a sheep----
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891 |
Hmmm. These words are used differently here in Québec, L.J.
A cabinet is either;
1) a free-standing movable piece of furniture with drawers or compartments used for storage of household things - usually things important to you. 2) as you mention, storage compartments attached to the wall in the kitchen for placing dishes. 3) a doctor or lawyer's office 4) the group of ministers in the parliament. (in French it is also used to mean the toilet room)
And a cupboard is always a storage space with a door, the size of a closet with shelves to store kitchen stuff (non-perishable foods, pots and pans, etc.) I've never seen cups in a cupboard. Those are always in the cabinets.
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,918 Likes: 2 |
I pretty much see the same as you.
----please, draw me a sheep----
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963
old hand
|
old hand
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 963 |
Interesting. I have just realized that if I am talking about the installed structures, whether they be on a wall or under a counter, they are cabinets, but if I refer to them as storage spaces they are cupboards. My kitchen has brown cabinets, but the dishes are in the cupboard over the microwave. Otherwise, a cabinet is a free-standing piece of furniture with doors. It may have drawers as well, but if it has only drawers it's not a cabinet. A closet-like small room is always a closet, unless it's it's a pantry, which need not be small. I've never known such a room as a cupboard. I need to ask some friends about their usage.
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,350
Members9,182
|
Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
0 members (),
845
guests, and
1
robot. |
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|