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I'm writing an academic work about pouring liquids with bottles. The different parts of the bottle are very important, because I need to distinguish between the point at the bottom, middle and top of a bottle.
But when I looked up "bottle top" it seems to be the thing that we screw on a bottle. So I tried "bottle tip" in order to not get it confused but I'm unsure if that's the best way of calling that part.

Here's an example in which I try using it:

The transformation from the middle of the bottle (where the end effector is grasping) to its tip equals half of the bottle height in the positive z-direction. The transformation from the glass to the bottle tip is known.

Feel free to correct any other mistakes I might have done in those sentences. ;)

bottle

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  • 2
    Is bottle neck too imprecise?
    – Lawrence
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 13:30
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    Since you ask for other possible mistakes: I think you may be using the word "transformation" when you mean "distance".
    – Simon L Rydin Myerson
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 21:36
  • @SimonLRydinMyerson I'm referring to transformation matrices
    – Cold_Class
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 9:36
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    @Cold_Class if you definitely mean a transformation which maps the body of the bottle to the mouth, and not just the displacement from the centre of the bottle to the mouth, then I suggest you should write out the linear transformation in full. "Half of the bottle height in the positive z-direction" sounds like just a displacement and not a linear tranformation. If this doesn't make sense, perhaps consider posting a question on math.stackexchange about how best to phrase what you mean, as I think I may have gone beyond what counts as the English language ;-)
    – Simon L Rydin Myerson
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 20:29
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    @Cold_Class ok, so it is just some change of coordinates which you define, and not a mapping between two parts of the bottle. If you're interested, maybe phrases like "change of coordinates" or "displacement in the z-direction" could make this clearer. But it sounds like in context it is clear anyway!
    – Simon L Rydin Myerson
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 21:23

4 Answers 4

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51

I think you are looking for rim

the outer, often curved or circular, edge of something.

Or more simply , mouth, as shown in the picture below.

Mouth:

c : the opening of a container, the mouth of a bottle. (M-W)

enter image description here

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    Since "rim" sound like "edge" to me, I prefer "mouth" because I'm writing about the center point. So do you think The transformation from the glass to the bottle mouth is known. sounds good?
    – Cold_Class
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 14:09
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    I think it can be easily understood.
    – user 66974
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 14:21
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    @Cold_Class it parses, but I can't imagine a use for that phrase.
    – fectin
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 15:12
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    Note the similarity of the terms to the human head: neck, lip, mouth, and the bottle as a whole to the human body: shoulder, body.
    – CJ Dennis
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 3:31
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    @Cold_Class What exactly is “The transformation from the glass to the bottle mouth is known” supposed to mean? As fectin says, it can be grammatically parsed, but it doesn’t make much sense, at least not without context. “The transformation is known” is a very strange thing to say, and I cannot think of anything that could be transformed from “the glass” (which glass? Are you talking about the material the bottle is made of, or the glass that you pour the liquid into? Or something else?) to the mouth of the bottle.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 14:37
55

This is the mouth of the bottle.

3 : something that resembles a mouth especially in affording entrance or exit: such as

[...]

c. : the opening of a container • the mouth of a bottle

from Merriam-Webster

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  • This suggestion was posted about one hour before this answer was posted.
    – user 66974
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 10:19
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    @user110518 Your answer suggests "rim" as the answer, and "mouth" as a possible alternative. I don't suggest "rim".
    – mattdm
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 11:15
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    Yes, I wrote rim or mouth. Anyway it’s ok
    – user 66974
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 11:16
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    When the liquid comes out of the mouth (or top) of the bottle, it flows across or passes the rim. It doesn't come out of the rim.
    – Vince O'Sullivan
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 13:56
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    My first thought was 'the opening of the bottle' – a word used in MW's definition. That's another possibility.
    – J.R.
    Commented Jul 8, 2018 at 20:57
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The part of a bottle or other vessel from which liquids or powders etc may be poured is often called a 'spout'.

a tube-shaped opening that allows liquids to be poured out of a container

Spout (Cambridge)

Examples

US patent application "a bottle cap for cutting a seal attached to a spout of a bottle to seal an opening of a bottle."

BOTTLE CAP FOR CUTTING SEAL ATTACHED TO SPOUT OF BOTTLE

Fleming had slipped in a puddle of water which had leaked from the spout of a bottle of spring water that sat upon one of the store's shelves.

Munford, Inc. v. Fleming (Legal case)

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    Teapots have spouts, as do watering cans, but I'm pretty sure I've never heard the mouth of a bottle called that.
    – Useless
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 15:47
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    @Useless - Maybe you haven't spoken with the right bottles.
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 18:02
  • The most plausible interpretation of that Munford case is that the bottle is one of the large ones with a spigot near the base. That might be called a spout, but it's not the mouth of the bottle (which is still on top assuming it exists at all)
    – Useless
    Commented Jul 10, 2018 at 10:18
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the finish re: containers Freund Bottles Co.

the finish can best be described as ‘the lip of the bottle’. The term "finish" originated when glass bottles were still produced by mouth blown craftsman and the last step in completing a finished bottle was to "finish the lip."

And more, with some confusion: bottle morphology

Finish - Simply put, the finish is typically everything above the distinctive upper terminus of the neck. It refers to the combination of the lip (upper part) and collar (lower part) of a finish, if both are present, or any other distinct parts if present. The term "finish" originates as a reference to the final process of making a mouth-blown bottle - completion or "finishing" of the lip and upper portion of the neck. Generically, a finish can have one-part, two-parts (like in the illustration above), three-parts, and rarely more parts (Jones & Sullivan 1989). The finish on a bottle is also referred to sometimes as a "top" or "mouth" (White 1978), See the Bottle Finishes page for much more information on finishes.

and

Lip - This is one of the more confusing and variably used terms used in reference to bottle morphology. As used on this site, lip has two meanings depending on the context, though both uses are better described with other terms. It is used to describe the extreme upper surface of the finish, though the term rim is preferred (both are often used together on this website). Lip is also used by some - and occasionally on this website as indicated by the illustration above - to refer to the upper part of a multiple part finish (Jones & Sullivan 1989). The term is also frequently used as a shorthand reference for the entire finish - lip and collar together. However, for added confusion, the term collar is used by some to refer to what is called a lip here - the upper part of the finish or the entire finish if it is composed of only one part. See the Bottle Finishes page for much more information on finishes and finish parts.

bottle anatomy

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    thx for so much info :) I guess my image is not precise enough, because finish is the correct term for what I've circled I think but not really what I'm looking for. I'm writing about the center point of the rim I guess. I just checked some other articles and found a very easy alternative that I like: bottle opening :D
    – Cold_Class
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 14:15
  • How about bottle's "top", which would be covered and sealed by a "cap"? "Mouth" is also a good word for the opening at the top of a bottle. Of course bottle makers and bottlers--those who fill bottles with things like wine, beer, vinegar, etc.--might have technical words like "finish" described above.
    – tautophile
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 17:49
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    @tautophile In British English the "cap" is often called the "bottle top" (especially for non-resealable beer bottle caps, etc) even though "cap" is the more correct term.
    – alephzero
    Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 20:06
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    This is well-researched and clearly correct, but I doubt that anyone outside the bottle manufacturing industry will understand the term "finish".
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 11:30
  • @DavidRicherby—If anyone outside the bottle-manufacturing industry could be expected to understand the term ‘finish’ in this context, I suspect it would the audience for 'an academic work about pouring liquids with bottles’.
    – NMI
    Commented Jul 11, 2018 at 11:42

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