Etymology

The first reference to coffee in the English language is in the form chaona, dated to 1598 and understood to be a misprint of chaoua[14] (equivalent, in the orthography of the time, to chaova). This term and "coffee" both derive from the Ottoman Turkish kahve, possibly by way of the Italian caffè. In turn this derives from the Arabic qahwah(قهوة).[15] This is traditionally held to have originally referred to a type of wine, whose etymology is given by Arab lexicographers as deriving from the verb qahā (قها, "to lack hunger") in reference to the drink's reputation as an appetite suppressant.[15][16] It is sometimes alternatively traced to the Arabic quwwa ("power, energy") or to Kaffa, a medieval kingdom in Ethiopia whence the plant was exported to Arabia.[15] Others with "equally little authority" even hold that the region was named after the drink.[17] The connection to "Kaffa" has been disputed, however. The name qahwah is not used for the berry or plant (the products of the region), which are known in Arabic as bunnand Shoa as būn. Semitic had a root qhh "dark color", which, since "coffee" is dark in color, became a natural designation for the beverage. According to this analysis, the feminine form qahwah (also meaning "dark in color, dull(ing), dry, sour") was likely chosen to parallel the feminine khamr (خمر, "wine"), and originally meant "the dark one".[18]