You might be an expert coffee drinker and lover, but do you know anything about the word “coffee” itself? Read on to know more!
What “coffee” actually means? There are two big theories among the etymology scholars, which one do you think is more credible?
What the Italian word “caffè” actually means
The first explanation takes into consideration the Arabic word “ahwa” (or qahwa), used in ancient and contemporary Arabic to indicate the drink. To be precise, this words indicates any beverage that has some kind of stimulating effects and that might also have a medicinal use.
Qahwa, as per its etymologic analysis, derives from the verb “qaha” which means “lack of hunger”, that is something we are used to attribute to coffee. But it could also derive from the word “quwwa” which means “energy”, “power”, one more characteristic we all do attribute to coffee. One last probable origin is from the word “qahwah” which means “of dark colouring” “matt”.
Another theory says that the origin of word is to be found in Ethiopian “caffa” (or “kaffa), the name of a region in the southwestern part of the country. It’s a territory where coffee plants could be found in the wild. But it could also very well derive from the city of Kaffa, where coffee where already consumed and served especially during some specific rituals.
There is no written documentation that could unveil the true origin of the Italian word “caffè”, and both theories have been and still are debated. We won’t say which theory convinced us more, but will just drop here that Ethiopia is one of the most important coffee producer and it hosts one of the most important coffee celebrations in the world!
About the origin of the word “coffee”, in English, there is much more clarity. We have, in fact, written documents reporting that the world “coffee” evolved from the Dutch “koffie”. On its turn, “koffie” seems to come from the Turkish word “kahve” particularly used in the Ottoman era. And, well, the word “kahve” appears to be related to the Arabic word “qawha”, and here we close the loop! But well, in the end, we will never be 100% sure about anything of that!
The Italian workd “caffè”, its origins
Apparently, the word “caffè” had been introduced in Italy between the 1600 and 1700, at time in fact this special product was making its first entrance in the country. We know already, it could be of Arabic, Ethiopian or Turkish origins, you just chose what to believe. And now you have some more options to pick from. In fact, we have two different legends about how the drink first became popular and the word started circulating:
- Some say it’s thanks to herbal doctor Prospero Alfino that opened the first coffee shop in Piazza San Marco in Venice in 1683. Prospero had spent some time in Egypt for study reasons, and he had come back with a few coffee plants, introducing this drink to the city and explaining its curative properties
- Others say that around the end of 1600 some Turkish traders arrived in Venice and shared their tradition of drinking coffee, gifting Italy with a drink that centuries later is a symbol of its own traditions
Which one do you believe the most?
Do you want to know more about the origin of the coffee itself? Take a tour of our blog and find out more about that!
