Coffee Definition

kôfē, kŏfē
noun
A dark-brown, aromatic drink made by brewing in water the roasted and ground beanlike seeds of a tall tropical shrub (genus Coffea) of the madder family.
Webster's New World
These seeds, found in the red berries of the shrub.
Webster's New World
The shrub itself.
Webster's New World
The beverage prepared from the seeds of this plant.
Likes to drink coffee with breakfast.
American Heritage
A serving of such a beverage.
Ordered two coffees with sugar.
American Heritage
adjective
Flavored with coffee.
Coffee ice cream.
Webster's New World
Of a pale brown colour, like that of milk coffee.
Wiktionary
Synonyms:
verb
(intransitive) To drink coffee.
Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Coffee

Noun

Singular:
coffee
Plural:
coffees

Origin of Coffee

  • From Italian caffè, from Turkish kahve, from Arabic قهوة (qahwa, “coffee”). Some Ethiopians claim a derivation from Kaffa, an ancient province of Ethiopia where coffee is said to have originated, but this etymology is highly improbable as it fails to explain the initial shift to the Arabic ‘qahwa’. At the same time, qahwa refers only to coffee in liquid form. When it is dry, either as beans or ground, Arabs call coffee بن (bunn). That word comes from ቡና (buna), the Amharic word for coffee.

    From Wiktionary

  • Alteration (influenced by Italian caffè) (from Ottoman Turkish) of Ottoman Turkish qahve from Arabic qahwa qhw in Semitic roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Alteration (influenced by Italian caffè) (from Ottoman Turkish) of Ottoman Turkish qahve from Arabic qahwa qhw in Semitic roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • Many sources state that the Arabic term meant ‘a brew’, especially wine.

    From Wiktionary

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