cocaine (English)
Where does "cocaine" come from?
The English noun 'cocaine' is formed from 'coca' combined with the chemical suffix '-ine'[1]. The root word traces back through Spanish 'coca' to the Quechua word 'kuka'[1][2][4]. The English term is first attested around 1874[1].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin in Quechua may be borrowed from Aymara. [2] [3]
Full etymology tree
- cocaine (English), 'An addictive drug derived from coca (Erythroxylum) or prepared synthetically, used sometimes medicinally as a local anesthetic and, often illegally, as a stimulant.'
- affix coca (English), 'Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.'
- borrowed coca (Spanish), 'coca (any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America)'
- borrowed kuka (Quechua), 'coca'
- borrowed kuka (Aymara)
- borrowed kuka (Quechua), 'coca'
- borrowed coca (Spanish), 'coca (any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America)'
- suffix -ine (English), 'Of or pertaining to.'
- affix coca (English), 'Any of the four cultivated plants which belong to the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America.'
Ancestors
- coca (English)
- kuka (Quechua)
Descendants and derived words
- anticocaine (English)
- -caine (English)
- cocaine addict (English)
- cocaine base (English)
- cocaine bugs (English)
- cocaine cowboy (English)
- cocaine decor (English)
- cocaineless (English)
- cocainelike (English)
- cocaine paste (English)
- cocainise (English)
- cocainism (English)
Sources
- cocaine (English) - Wiktionary
- coca (English) - Wiktionary
- kuka (Quechua) - Wiktionary
- coca (Spanish) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris