The cup is a unit of volume in the US customary unit system with the symbol cup.
It is equal to 1/2 US customary pint, 1/4 US customary quart and 1/16 US customary gallon. it is also equal to 236.5882365 millilitres.
Used primarily for cooking - the cup was adopted and established as a recognised unit of measure as it could be used by almost anyone in any kitchen. Due to the slight variants in design and size, it is rarely used as an accurate measure for important or critical materials, however it does represent a specific amount and can be used across many recipes to indicate what is needed.
The US liquid pint is a unit of volume in the US customary system with the symbol pt.
1 US liquid pint is equal to 1/8 US liquid gallon. This is equal to 1/2 US liquid quart, 2 US cups, 4 US gills or 16 US fluid ounces. The SI / metric equivalent is 473.1765 ml.
From the early (1707) adoption of the British wine gallon at 231 in³, the American pint was born. Where all pints are 1/8 of their respective unit system's gallon, that put the US pint at 28.875 in³.