cottabus 的词源

a Sicilian game ... much in vogue at the drinking parties of young men at Athens. The simplest mode was when each threw the wine left in his cup, so as to strike smartly in a metal basin, at the same time invoking his mistress' name; if the whole fell with a distinct sound into the basin, it was a sign he stood well with her .... The game soon became complicated and was played in various ways. [Liddell and Scott, "Greek-English Lexicon," 1901]

这是一种西西里游戏……在雅典年轻人的饮酒聚会上非常流行。最简单的玩法是每个人将杯中剩下的酒倒出，尽量让酒液在金属盆中发出清脆的声响，同时呼唤自己情人的名字；如果酒液整齐地落入盆中并发出明显的声音，那就意味着他与情人的关系不错……这个游戏很快变得复杂起来，玩法也多种多样。[Liddell and Scott, "Greek-English Lexicon," 1901]

Beeks 写道，kottabos "不仅指游戏本身，还指其中使用的几种物品和动作"，因此，"[a]s the original meaning of [kottabos] is unknown, all etymologies are necessarily uncertain"。

这个词还有一个派生动词，kottabizein，意为“玩 kottabos”，同时也含有“呕吐”的委婉说法。