mid-15c., "being of the third power;" 1550s, "having the form of a cube," from Old French cubique (14c.), from Latin cubicus, from Greek kybikos, from kybos "cube" (see cube (n.)). Meaning "solid, three-dimensional" is from 1650s.

Cubical is attested from 1590s with the meaning "of or pertaining to a cube," and according to OED it is "Now more usual than cubic in this sense." Related: Cubically.

"early 20c. revolutionary movement in visual arts characterized (at first) by simple geometric forms," 1911, from French cubisme, from cube (see cube (n.) + -ism). Said to have been coined by French art critic Louis Vauxcelles at the 1908 Salon des Indépendants in reference to a work by Georges Braque. Related: Cubist (by 1914 as an adjective, 1920 as a noun).

"cube-like, resembling a cube in form," 1829, a modern coinage; see cube (n.) + -oid. As a noun, short for cuboid bone, by 1839. Related: Cuboidal.

"ice cut in small blocks for cooling drinks, etc.," 1902, from ice (n.) + cube (n.).

One of the newest plans for the economical use of artificial ice has recently been patented by Van der Weyde, of Holland. The invention is based on the fact that two smooth surfaces of freshly cut ice when brought into contact at a temperature below thirty-two degrees will unite firmly. At a higher temperature the junction yields to a blow, and the ice breaks into the original parts. Van der Weyde casts blocks of ice into small cubes, which are stamped with a trade mark. These cubes are joined into a larger cube of any desired weight and sent out for use. The mark is a guarantee that the ice is pure, and the small cubes, weighing an ounce each, are easily separated into a shape convenient for use. ["Artificial Ice in Cubes," Lawrence Chieftain (Mount Vernon, Missouri), June 21, 1894]