coffee (English)

Where does "coffee" come from?

The word 'coffee' traces its roots back to the Arabic term 'qahwa,' which originally referred to a type of wine. It traveled through Ottoman Turkish into Italian as 'caffè' and then into Dutch as 'koffie' before finally reaching the English language. This fascinating journey highlights how a single word can evolve as it moves through different cultures and languages to name a globally beloved beverage.

Full etymology tree

• coffee (English), 'A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.'
  • borrowed koffie (Dutch), 'coffee (beverage)'
    • borrowed caffè (Italian), 'coffee (plant and drink)'
      • borrowed قهوه (kahve) (Ottoman Turkish), 'coffee'
        • borrowed قَهْوَة (qahwa) (Arabic), 'coffee (the drink)'

Direct ancestors

• koffie (Dutch)
• caffè (Italian)
• قهوه (Ottoman Turkish)
• café (English)
• caffè (English)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris