lid

The Old English term hlid is derived from the Proto-Germanic term *hlidan, meaning literally "that which bends over".{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/lid|encyclopedia=Online Etymology Dictionary|title=lid (n.)|date=27 July 2018}}

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest attested use of the word in English is by Ælfric of Eynsham in his Homilies ({{circa}} 1000).{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|title=Lid, n|doi=10.1093/OED/1157632363|date=June 2025}} Other meanings of the term, now mostly obsolete or slang, include shutters, the top pie crust, the kneecap, a hat or cap (from which the phrase "flipped his lid" is derived, or the act of concealment or silencing (as in "keeping the lid on the secret"). It is also used metaphorically in the saying "there's a lid for every pot", meaning that for each person there exists an ideal partner.{{cite web|url=https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/there%27s+a+lid+for+every+pot|website=The Free Dictionary|publisher=Farler|title=there's a lid for every pot|accessdate=15 February 2025}}

File:Pottery_4300–3200_BC,_AM_Naxos,_190379.jpg period, 4300–3200 BC]]

Ancient vessels with lids have been discovered dating to as early as 4000–3500 BC,{{cite web|url=https://www.imj.org.il/en/collections/393471-0|title=Small jar with lid|publisher=Israel Museum, Jerusalem|accessdate=15 February 2025}} and a lid alone dating to 6500–4000 BC has been recovered.{{cite web|url=https://dams.birminghammuseums.org.uk/assetbank-birminghammuseums/action/viewAsset?id=25063&index=6&total=88&view=viewSearchItem|publisher=Birmingham Museums|title=Neolithic Pot Lid|accessdate=15 February 2025}} A study of cooking dishes in the Aegean region from the Neolithic to the Iron Age noted an absence of surviving lids, although there was some evidence to suggest lids may have been used.{{cite journal|url=https://hal.science/hal-03025978/document|last1=Dimoula|first1=A|last2=Tsirtsoni|first2=Z|last3=Valamoti|first3=S|title=Ceramic cooking dishes in the prehistoric Aegean|journal=Hesperia|date=2022|volume=91|pages=1–61}} Egyptologist Julia Budka has suggested that early pots may have used lids made from organic materials that did not survive, or that early lids may have been misinterpreted as dishes.{{cite web|url=https://www.sudansurvey.gwi.uni-muenchen.de/index.php/2022/07/25/the-right-lid-for-every-pot/|last=Budka|first=Julia|date=25 July 2022|title=The right lid for every pot?|website=Munich University Attab to Ferka Survey Project}}

Ancient Egyptian canopic jars with lids date as far back as 2532 BC.{{cite web|url=https://collections.mfa.org/objects/156752/canopic-jar-and-lid-of-queen-meresankh-iii|title=Canopic jar and lid of Queen Meresankh III|publisher=Boston Museum of Fine Arts|accessdate=15 February 2025}} Jar burials were also used in southeast Europe, with a lidded jar being recovered from an early Neolithic site.{{cite book|last=Bacvarov|first=Krum|chapter=A long way to the west: earliest jar burials in southeast Europe and the Near East|page=61|title=Babies reborn: infant/child burials in pre- and protohistory|editor-last=Bacvarov|editor-first=Krum|date=2008|publisher=Archaeopress}}

The use of lidded vessels for fermentation had emerged by 1000 BC, with sealed beverage vessels being recovered from ancient Chinese archaeological sites.{{cite journal|pmc=539767|title=Fermented beverages of pre- and proto-historical China|author1=Patrick E McGovern|author2=Juzhong Zhang |author3=Jigen Tang|author4= Zhiqing Zhang |author5=Gretchen R Hall |author6= Robert A Moreau |author7=Alberto Nuñez |author8= Eric D Butrym |author9= Michael P Richards |author10=Chen-shan Wang |author11= Guangsheng Cheng |author12= Zhijun Zhao |author13= Changsui Wang |journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci USA|date=2004|volume=101|issue=51|page=17593}} Italian cooking pans with lids dating to 100 BC have been recovered at Tel Anafa in Israel, suggesting the trade of such items.{{cite journal|title=Italian cooking vessels and cuisine from Tel Anafa|last=Berlin|first=Andrea|journal=Israel Exploration Journal|jstor=27926288|pages=35–44|volume=43|issue=1|date=1993}}

Tankards with hinged lids were a common design in northern Europe by the 1700s.{{cite web|url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/197011|publisher=The Met|title=Tankard|accessdate=15 February 2025}}

Beginning in the 1840s, printing technology was used to embellish the lids of commercial products.{{cite web|url=https://www.antiquestradegazette.com/guides/collecting-guides/pot-lids/|work=Antiques Trade Gazette|last=Arkell|first=Roland|title=Pot Lids|accessdate=15 February 2025}} F&R Pratt in Staffordshire became a major producer of colour-transferred pot lids, of which over 550 designs are attested; some were on display at the Great Exhibition of 1851.{{cite web|url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78093/pot-lid-t-j/|publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum|title=Pot Lid|accessdate=15 February 2025}} Specialist auctions of pot lids began in 1924 and peaked in the 1970s, although they continue to be of interest to collectors.

File:Mason_jar_array.jpgs showing the screw band design]]

The use of glass or tin lids sealed to jars with wax emerged in Europe by 1814 and was popularized by the 1840s for people engaged in home canning.{{cite web|url=https://sha.org/bottle/closures.htm|publisher=Society for Historical Archaeology|title=Types of Bottle Closures|date=1 January 2024}} The screw-on Mason jar lid was patented in 1858 and was considered superior to previous fruit jar closure techniques, particularly after the addition of a lid liner in 1869 to prevent the metal lid from impacting the taste of the product. That lid was largely replaced by a tin band design as a result of metal shortages during World War II, although variations on this design existed from the 1860s. Lids with a lightning toggle were also used for fruit jars from 1882; alternative designs from the 1860s used a thumbscrew or lever closure. A version using a spring clip became popular during the early 20th century, but was overtaken by the screw band design in the 1930s. A revival in interest in home canning during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shortage of Mason jar lids.{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/brief-history-mason-jar-180975546/|last=Matchar|first=Emily|title=A brief history of the Mason jar|date=26 August 2020|website=Smithsonian Magazine}}

The precursor to the lid safety button, a mechanism to ensure a jar is sealed, was patented in 1936.{{cite web|url=https://tedium.co/2023/07/19/tamper-evident-jar-safety-button-history/|website=Tedium|title=Tamper evident|last=Smith|first=Ernie|date=19 July 2023}} When baby food began to be sold in glass jars in the 1960s, consumer concerns led to the safety button design being incorporated into marketing of these products. The Continental White Cap company, which specialized in lid design and production, pursued a lid-testing process in the 1990s and filed multiple patents for tamper-evident closures following the Heinz extortion campaign, resulting in the modern safety button design.

In 1945, Earl Tupper patented a design for a watertight and airtight lid made of plastic. This design became the basis for Tupperware.{{cite book|pages=383–384|title=Historical dictionary of the 1940s|last1=Ryan|first1=James|last2=Schlup|first2=Leonard|publisher=ME Sharpe|date=2006|isbn=9780765621078}}

There was a significant increase in patents filed for "drink-through hot beverage lids" in the 1980s.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/coffee-lids-design-secrets/index.html|title=What disposable coffee lids tell us about the complexity of 'everyday' design|last=Holland|first=Oscar|date=5 April 2018|publisher=CNN}} The increased popularity of lattes and similar drinks in the 2000s resulted in the development of elevated lids to accommodate microfoam. {{as of|2009}} the coffee lid market is valued at roughly $180 million. An estimated 14 billion lids were sold in 2009 in the United States.{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_32/b4190075491383.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100805174036/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_32/b4190075491383.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 August 2010|title=The Big Top Circus|last=Wallace|first=Benjamin|date=29 July 2010|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|access-date=3 August 2010}}

File:StorageContainers.jpg

Lids can be made of varying materials, and may or may not match the material of their associated container; for example, some modern glass reusable food containers are sold with plastic lids.{{cite web|url=https://www.seriouseats.com/best-food-storage-containers-6750861|title=We Tested 12 Food Storage Containers to Find the Best Ones for Leftovers and Lunches|website=Serious Eats|last1=King|first1=Eric|last2=Kelly|first2=Grace|date=4 February 2025}} Some lids have latches and/or rubber gaskets to improve the security of their fit. Others have anti-tampering mechanisms to hold the lid on securely until opening.{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-tampering-extra-ounce-caution|publisher=US Food and Drug Administration|title=Food tampering, an extra ounce of caution|accessdate=15 February 2025}} Lids which have become unsealed or left uncovered may present a food safety risk.{{cite web|url=https://extension.psu.edu/when-a-jar-becomes-unsealed|publisher=Penn State|title=When a jar becomes unsealed|date=24 August 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://www.marthastewart.com/8382184/food-storage-mistakes|publisher=Martha Stewart|title=6 common food storage mistakes to avoid, according to food scientists|last=Nunez|first=Kirtsten|date=12 March 2023}}

Lids can be designed to sit flat against the rim of the associated vessel, to seal the rim, or to cover the rim from the outside. They may have handles to facilitate removal, particularly if intended for use with cooking vessels.{{cite web|url=https://www.vintagefrenchcopper.com/identification/construction/all-about-lids/|website=Vintage French Copper|title=All about lids|accessdate=15 February 2025}} Lids can be attached or detached; attached lids have been promoted as a means of addressing plastic pollution.{{cite news|title=The new plastic bottle lids are driving us mad for a good reason|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/new-plastic-bottle-lids-caps-attached-tethered-b2596079.html|website=The Independent|last=Rosseinsky|first=Katie|date=14 August 2024}}

Some containers have a plastic film heat-sealed onto the container, often called a lidding film. These are often used in food production to improve longevity of the product and maintain food safety.{{cite web|url=https://www.industrialpackaging.com/blog/what-are-lidding-films|date=24 August 2021|title=What are lidding films? Applications and uses|last=Dube|first=Nathan|publisher=Industrial Packaging}}

Certain lid designs present accessibility concerns, as older people or those with certain disabilities may lack the strength or dexterity to open tight lids or peel lidding films.{{cite journal|doi=10.1177/0954406212457729|title=Investigating openability of rigid plastic containers with peelable lids: The link between human strength and grip and opening forces|last1=Canty|first1=Laura|last2=Lewis|first2=Roger|last3=Yoxall|first3=Alaster|journal=Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science|volume=227|issue=5}}{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.jht.2013.04.002|title=Preference of lid design characteristics by older adults with limited hand function|last1=Yen|first1=Wei-Ting|last2=Flinn|first2=Sharon|last3=Sommerich|first3=Carolyn|last4=Lavender|first4=Steven|last5=Sanders|first5=Elizabeth|journal=Journal of Hand Therapy|volume=26|issue=3|date=2013|pages=261–271}}

File:Canopic_jar_MET_DP311708.jpg

The lids of reliquary or burial jars (after 2000 BC) are typically designed as figurines with cultural or religious significance. For example, later Egyptian canopic jars use lids in the form of the four children of Horus,{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/burialcustoms/canopic.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118054218/http://www.digitalegypt.ucl.ac.uk/burialcustoms/canopic.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-18|accessdate=15 February 2025|title=Canopic jars|publisher=University College London}} while the Fang people attached figurines symbolizing their ancestors to containers preserving their bones.{{cite web|url=https://www.slam.org/explore-the-collection/object-of-the-day/|title=Reliquary guardian figure|date=11 June 2020|publisher=Saint Louis Art Museum}} Lids could also be decorated; for example, some types of ritual Chinese wine vessels used lids decorated with historic scenes,{{cite web|url=https://www.weisbrodcollection.com/blogs/news/ritual-wine-vessel-understanding-chinese-art|title=Ritual wine vessel: understanding Chinese art|accessdate=15 February 2025|publisher=Weisbrod Collection}} while Roman sarcophagi may use lids imitating temple roofs or displaying a portrait of the deceased.{{cite web|url=https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/artinantiquity/6623.html|publisher=Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World|last=Taft|first=Abigail|title=Art in Antiquity 2008|date=29 September 2008}} The Sutton Hoo purse-lid is "one of the most remarkable creations of the early modern period".{{cite web|last=Adams|first=Noel|title=Reading the Sutton Hoo Purse Lid|work=Saxon|date=2004|number=41|page=1|url=https://suttonhoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Saxon41.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107074109/https://suttonhoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Saxon41.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2017-01-07}}

The lid plays a significant role in the Greek myth of Pandora's box, actually a large jar which, upon removal of the lid, released all the evils of the world, leaving only hope behind. According to Willem Jacob Verdenius in his commentary on the work of Hesiod (who recorded the myth in his {{circa}} 700 BC poem Works and Days), "the suggestion that the fact that ἐλπίς is caught by the lid symbolizes the fact that hope always desires to be realized but never is".{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p92mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68|title=A Commentary on Hesiod: Works and Days, vv. 1-382|first=W. J.|last=Verdenius|date=2018|publisher=BRILL|pages=67–68}}

{{Reflist}}

• Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, {{ISBN|1-930268-25-4}}
• Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, {{ISBN|978-0-470-08704-6}}

{{wiktionary|lid}}

{{commons category|Lids}}

{{commons category|Container covers}}

{{packaging}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Seals (mechanical)

Category:Packaging