# cubby



## wanabee

Dear all,

I think that the word "cubby" is typically a small square space for each child at school to store their belongings, and usually there're many of them lined up straight at the back of the classroom or the school entrance.

Is "cubby" originated from cupboard or something?

I would appreciate any comments.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

>>Is "cubby" originated from cupboard or something?

I don't think so. I think it comes from German. Would you like this thread moved to the Etymology forum?


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## wanabee

Beryl from Northallerton said:


> >>Is "cubby" originated from cupboard or something?
> 
> I don't think so. I think it comes from German. Would you like this thread moved to the Etymology forum?


Thank you very much, Beryl, for your kind suggestion!
Please do so. Etymology Forum is new to me.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

_Thread moved to EHL._


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## JustKate

The only thing I'm fairly sure of is that _cubby_ is short for _cubbyhole_ - in fact, I am pretty confident that the latter is still more common in AmE than the shorter form. The Online Etymology Dictionary mentions three theories as to the origin of _cubbyhole_:
1. It could come from the Old German word "cub," which means "stall, pen, cattle shed, coop, hutch."
2. It might be related to _cuddy_, which apparently came from French through Dutch and meant "small cabin in a boat."
3. It might be a "children's made-up word."

Take your pick!


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## ancalimon

Could it be from the word "cup" which is probably some ancient universal word.

For example, in Turkish one of the meanings of "kap" is "to shut in " to jam in".

You pour liquid into a cup in order to prevent it from spilling. The cup makes the liquid shut in.


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## wanabee

Thank you very much, JustKate and ancalimon!!


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## Kevin Beach

Perhaps it's an abbreviation/diminutive of *cupboard*. After all, a cubby(hole) performs the same function as a cupboard but on a smaller scale. If so, then it's distinctively BrE, but no doubt it has travelled.


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## Ben Jamin

ancalimon said:


> Could it be from the word "cup" which is probably some ancient universal word.
> 
> For example, in Turkish one of the meanings of "kap" is "to shut in " to jam in".
> 
> You pour liquid into a cup in order to prevent it from spilling. The cup makes the liquid shut in.


So you suggest that "cup" in English has Turkish origins?
See this: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=cup&searchmode=none


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## ancalimon

Ben Jamin said:


> So you suggest that "cup" in English has Turkish origins?
> See this: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=cup&searchmode=none



No. I think they both have common origins. Cup in Turkic is a well established word. Since it's extremely improbable that cup in English comes from Turkish, I think they most probably share a common ancestor.

Besides, Etymonline also shows the word keup meaning hollow as the origin and that word also is in Turkic languages. "Kof" which means hollow.


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## Ben Jamin

ancalimon said:


> No. I think they both have common origins. Cup in Turkic is a well established word. Since it's extremely improbable that cup in English comes from Turkish, I think they most probably share a common ancestor.
> 
> Besides, Etymonline also shows the word keup meaning hollow as the origin and that word also is in Turkic languages. "Kof" which means hollow.



What common ancestor could it be?


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## ancalimon

Ben Jamin said:


> What common ancestor could it be?



Some language spoken before Proto-Turkic and PIE.


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## Ben Jamin

ancalimon said:


> Some language spoken before Proto-Turkic and PIE.



Such language is unknown to linguists. If you think about Nostratic, then it is a hypothesis with a very limited acknowledgement. All theories about such languages are impossible to prove, as there is not enough material to work on.


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## sotos

wanabee said:


> "cubby" is typically a small square space



Is it my idea or is it a britanised "cubicle"<L. cubiculum<Gr. κύβος, in other words a cube ?


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## wanabee

Thank you very much for all!!


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