A friend asked me about the difference between cupboards, cabinets and closets, so I thought I’d look into it and write a post about it.
A cupboard is
- A storage closet either separate from, or built into, a wall.
- Things displayed on a sideboard; dishware, particularly valuable plate(16th-19th century).
- A board or table used to openly hold and display silver plate and other dishware; a sideboard; a buffet (14th-18th century).
Note that kitchen cupboards are also known as kitchen cabinets. What do you call them?
It comes from Middle English cuppeborde (sideboard), from cuppe (cup) and bord (board, slab, table) [source].
If something is small, fusty or poorly lit, you could call it “cupboardy” [source].
A cabinet is
- A storage closet either separate from, or built into, a wall.
- A cupboard.
- A group of advisors to a government or business entity.
- A group of government ministers responsible for creating government policy and for overseeing government departments.
- A small chamber or private room (archaic) [source].
Originally it meant a secret storehouse, treasure chamber or case for valuables. It comes from Middle French cabinet (small room), a diminutive of the Old French cabane (cabin) [source], from Old Provençal cabana, from Late Latin capanna/cabanna (hut), which is of uncertain origin [source].
A closet is
- A small room within a house used to store clothing, food, or other household supplies.
- A secret or hiding place.
- A small room or side-room (mainly in Scotland and Ireland)
- A small room or side-room intended for storing clothes or bedclothes. (in the USA and Philippines)
Obsolete and archaic meanings of closet include:
- Any private space, (particularly) bowers in the open air.
- Any private or inner room, (particularly):
– A private room used by women to groom and dress themselves.
– A private room used for prayer or other devotions
– A place of (usually, fanciful) contemplation and theorizing.
– The private residence or private council chamber of a monarch. - A pew or side-chapel reserved for a monarch or other feudal lord.
An American-style closet (as in the photo above) might be called a built-in wardrobe in the UK. What would you call it?
It comes from Old French closet (a small enclosed area, such as a field or paddock), from clos (enclosed outdoor area, such as a field or a paddock), from Latin clausum (enclosed space, enclosure) clausus (shut, closed), from claudō (I shut, close, lock), from Proto-Italic *klaudō (I close), from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u- (key, hook, nail) [source].
English words from the same roots include cloister, clove, claustrophobia [source].
In Scotland and Ireland, a word used for cupboards and cabinets is press.