كَأْسٌ

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كَأْسٌ , and كَاسٌ, with the ء suppressed, is allowable, and sometimes occurs, A drinking-cup: or [a cup of wine; i. e.] a cup containing wine; or a cup full of wine: when not containing wine, it is not thus called; being in this case called قَدَحٌ: or it has the first and the second of these significations: or it signifies wine itself: or has this signification also: and is of the fem. gender: pl. [of pauc.] أَكْؤُسٌ and [of mult.] كُؤُوسٌ and كِئَاسٌ, the last with ء, (TA, [but written without ء in the CK,]) and, accord. to AHn, كِيَاسٌ, without ء, which, if correct, is originally كِوَاسٌ, from كَاسٌ, with the ء changed into ا as representing و, and كَاسَاتٌ, without ء. It is used metaphorically in relation to every kind of disagreeable, hateful, or evil, things. Thus you say, سَقَاهُ كَأْسًا مِنَ الذُّلِّ [He gave him to drink a cup of abasement]: and مِنَ الفُرْقَةِ [of separation]: and مِنَ المَوْتِ [of death]: and مِنَ الحُبِّ [of love]. You say also, سَقَاهُ الكَأْسَ الأَمَرَّ [He gave him to drink the most bitter cup]; meaning death: and كُؤُوسَ المَنَايَا [The cups of death; lit., deaths]. Az. thinks that it may be derived from كَاصَ فُلَانٌ مِنَ الطَّعَامِ وَالشَّرَابِ, meaning, “ Such a one ate and drank much ”; because ص and س are interchangeable in many words on account of the nearness of their places of utterance.

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