An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Kübel

by Friedrich Kluge

Kübel, masculine, ‘tub, bucket,’ from the equivalent Middle High German kübel, Old High German *chubil, masculine; compare Old High German miluh-chubilî, -chubilîn, neuter, ‘milk-pail’; allied to Anglo-Saxon cŷf (from kûbi-), Middle English kîve, ‘cask.’ The stem is genuinely Teutonic; it is doubtful whether it is connected with the cognates (‘narrow space’) discussed under Koben. Its Romance origin at all events must be rejected. — ModLat. cupella, cupellus, ‘mensura frumentaria’ and ‘vas potorium,’ do not coincide in meaning; Dutch kuip, ‘vat, cask,’ is alone connected with Latin cûpa, ‘cask.’ Some Romance words, such as Provençal cubel, ‘tub,’ are derived from the Teutonic cognates, from which Slavonic and Lettic words are borrowed; Lithuanian kùbilas, ‘tub,’ Old Slovenian kŭbĭlŭ, ‘vessel,’ as a corn measure. Compare Koben, Kopf, and Kufe.