What's the difference between "cup" and "glass"?

Are "cup" and "glass" the same in English? Can I call a "glass" a cup made of plastic?

Solution 1:

The shapes are variable, but the meanings converge on Prototypes.

In a classic set of experiments in 1973, Labov showed how this works with cup and mug.

Labov, William. 1973. 'The Boundaries of Words and Their Meanings' in R. Fasold (ed), Variation in the Form and Use of Language: A Sociolinguistics Reader. Georgetown University Press, 1983.

To summarize the relevant points, no, cup and glass are not the same in English. Yes, you can call a cup made of plastic a glass, depending on the context.

Solution 2:

To me, a cup is a general term. Mugs are a type of cup with thick sides and a often a handle. I would call beer steins or coffee mugs specializations of this type. A glass is a type of cup, usually glass, often with thinner sides and usually no handle, but it may or may not have a stem. A tumbler doesn't have a stem. A wine glass does. I guess a paper cup might be considered a tumbler, but it's not a glass.

Bottles, jugs, and thermoses are containers for drinks but not cups.

Solution 3:

The crucial, and rather obvious, difference is that a cup is normally made of earthenware or porcelain and a glass is made of, well, glass.

Solution 4:

No a cup and a glass are different shapes.

Even a copy of a glass, the same shape and size, made of plastic is called a glass. So if you buy beer but want to take it outside to drink in the beer-garden you normally have to have it in a plastic glass

cite: Pubs warn over plastic pints plan