café (Spanish)

Where does "café" come from?

The word café traces its origins to the Arabic qahwa, meaning coffee, which traveled through Ottoman Turkish into Italian as caffè. From there, it was adopted by the French, who eventually passed the term into Spanish. Over time, the word evolved to represent not only the drink itself but also the social space where it is served.

Full etymology tree

• café (Spanish), 'coffee'
  • borrowed café (French), 'coffee (drink)'
    • borrowed caveé (Italian)
      • inherited caffè (Italian), 'coffee (plant and drink)'
        • borrowed قهوه (kahve) (Ottoman Turkish), 'coffee'
          • borrowed قَهْوَة (qahwa) (Arabic), 'coffee (the drink)'
            • derived قَهِيَ (qahiya) (Arabic)
  • borrowed caffè (Italian), 'coffee (plant and drink)'
    • borrowed قهوه (kahve) (Ottoman Turkish), 'coffee'
      • borrowed قَهْوَة (qahwa) (Arabic), 'coffee (the drink)'
        • derived قَهِيَ (qahiya) (Arabic)

Ancestors

• café (French)
• caffè (Italian)

Descendants and derived words

• kape (Bikol Central)
• kape (Cebuano)
• kajé (Central Tarahumara)
• cafe (Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl)
• kape (Hiligaynon)
• capej (Mecayapan Nahuatl)
• ahwééh (Navajo)
• café a la turca (Spanish)
• cafecito (Spanish)
• café concierto (Spanish)
• café con leche (Spanish)
• café con piernas (Spanish)

Updated July 2026

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