If it is important to know the meaning of the term cupboard, it is also important to be clear about its etymological origin. In this case, we can establish that it is a word of Arabic origin, since it derives from “al-hizanah”, which can be translated as “wardrobe”.
According to DigoPaul, the term cupboard refers to a type of furniture that is used for the storage of different elements. It is a wardrobe that has doors and shelves or shelves, and is usually installed in a hole made in a wall.
For example: “We have to go to the urgent market! There is nothing left in the cupboard “, ” We need to buy a cupboard to store the noodles, the preserves and other food “, ” Please, hand me the box of rice that is in the cupboard “.
Typically, the cupboard is in the kitchen of the house since it allows you to store food, cutlery, glasses, cups, tablecloths and napkins, among other items that are used at mealtime. For this same reason, this piece of furniture can also be located in the dining room, when the dimensions of the environment allow it.
Cupboards in homes and especially in kitchens have always been so important that we can find them reflected in a long list of pictorial works, for example. Specifically, we must emphasize that examples of this are the following tables:
– “Cupboard”. It is a painting from 1610 that was made by the German Georg Flegel, who is considered the first painter in his country specialized in what is known as still lifes. Today this painting is part of the collection of the National Gallery in Prague.
– “Still life with food”. From 1602, for its part, is this other painting that belongs to the Spanish author Juan Sánchez Cotán, known for works such as “Bodegón del cardo” or “Bodegón de Hunting, Vegetables y Frutas”. This painting can be admired today in the Prado Museum.
-“Cupboard”. At the National Gallery of Art in the city of Washington is where this other painting that dates from 1769 is currently located. It is the work of Antonio Pérez de Aguilar.
Cupboard characteristics have changed throughout history. In its origins, cupboards were developed in holes in the walls that were protected with doors. Over time, the division of the cupboard into two sections became frequent: a closed cupboard in its lower part, with doors, and a sideboard in the upper sector with open shelves.
Cupboards today are usually built of wood. Its doors can be glazed so that it is possible to observe its interior without opening them. The height, the number of doors and shelves and the design of the cupboards are highly variable.
In some countries we can emphasize that cupboard is used routinely as a synonym for pantry, fresquera or vasar. However, in others all these terms are clearly differentiated.
