cupel

[ kyoo-puhl, kyoo-pel ]

/ ˈkyu pəl, kyuˈpɛl /

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noun

a small, cuplike, porous container, usually made of bone ash, used in assaying, as for separating gold and silver from lead.

a receptacle or furnace bottom in which silver is refined.

verb (used with object), cu·peled, cu·pel·ing or (especially British) cu·pelled, cu·pel·ling.

to heat or refine in a cupel.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of cupel

1595–1605; <Medieval Latin cūpella, equivalent to Latin cūp(a) tub + -ella diminutive suffix

OTHER WORDS FROM cupel

cu·pel·er

[kyoo-puh-ler], /ˈkyu pə lər/, cu·pel·ler

[kyoo-pel-er], /kyuˈpɛl ər/, nouncu·pel·la·tion, noun

Words nearby cupel

cupboard, cupboard love, cupcake, cup coral, CUPE, cupel, cupellation, Cupertino, cupferron, Cup Final, cupflower

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cupel in a sentence

Before removing the piston, turn it half-way round upon its axis so as to loosen and smooth the face of the cupel.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
A conveniently sized cupel is 1-1/4 inches in diameter and about 3/4 inch high.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
The cavity of the cupel is about 1/4 inch deep, and something of the shape shown in fig. 5.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer
Silver remains after cupellation in flattened elliptical buttons, adhering but only slightly to the cupel.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer

Another possible source of loss is the infiltration of small particles of alloy into the cupel.
A Textbook of Assaying: For the Use of Those Connected with Mines.|Cornelius Beringer and John Jacob Beringer

British Dictionary definitions for cupel

cupel

/ (ˈkjuːpəl, kjʊˈpɛl) /

noun

a refractory pot in which gold or silver is refined

a small porous bowl made of bone ash in which gold and silver are recovered from a lead button during assaying

verb -pels, -pelling or -pelled or US -pels, -peling or -peled

(tr) to refine (gold or silver) by means of cupellation

Derived forms of cupel

cupeller, noun

Word Origin for cupel

C17: from French coupelle, diminutive of coupe cup

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012