Library›Where Words Come From›One card

A LITTLE SOMETHING WORTH KNOWING

A small discovery. Yours to pass on.

Language & WordsOne small ahaWord

The word “Coffee” comes from, or was formed in, this language.

Think it. Then flip it. ahamoraTap to reveal Back to the cue
Language & WordsOne small aha
Your new ahaArabic

Coffee traces through Turkish kahve to Arabic qahwa. A connection between the word and the Ethiopian region Kaffa is uncertain. Source: Wiktionary: coffee ↗

ahamoraReference ↗

Keep the thread going

One answer is a beginning.

Share a little curiosity, or follow it into the full collection.

Flip the full deck →

More from Where Words Come From

A few more worth knowing.

  1. 17This word entered public use through Karel Čapek's R.U.R., published in 1920. Karel credited his brother Josef with suggesting the word, derived from robota, forced labor.RECALL
    Robot

    Robot entered public use through Karel Čapek's R.U.R., published in 1920. Karel credited his brother Josef with suggesting the word,…

    Open this card ↗
  2. 18The word “Robot” comes from, or was formed in, this language.RECALL
    Czech

    Robot entered public use through Karel Čapek's R.U.R., published in 1920. Karel credited his brother Josef with suggesting the word,…

    Open this card ↗
  3. 19This food of bread and filling takes its name from John Montagu, an eighteenth-century English earl.RECALL
    Sandwich

    The sandwich takes its name from John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich.

    Open this card ↗