Starting from the Arabian Peninsula
The word "coffee" is of pure Arabic origin. It was initially used to denote a drink that energizes the body and quells appetite. As coffee spread from Yemen to Mecca and then to the rest of the Islamic world, the name "coffee" became associated with the new beverage extracted from roasted coffee beans. From here, its linguistic and cultural journey began.
Coffee in Ottoman: kahve
When coffee arrived in the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, the Turks adopted it and it became an essential part of their social and political culture. In Turkish, the Arabic word "coffee" became "kahve."
From Istanbul, this drink spread to the courts of sultans and popular gatherings alike, until it became a symbol of Ottoman hospitality.
Coffee in Italy: Caffè
From Ottoman ports, especially Venice, which was a bridge between East and West, coffee reached Italy. There, the Turkish word kahve took its Italian form, caffè .
Italy played a pivotal role in developing preparation methods, such as espresso and cappuccino, which made the word “caffè” synonymous with vibrant coffee shops that remain a part of Italian identity to this day.
coffee in English: coffee
With the boom in European trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, coffee reached Britain, the Netherlands, and France. From the Italian caffè, the word evolved into the French café , and then entered English as coffee .
Coffee houses spread in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, and became centers of culture, politics, and thought, so much so that they were called “schools of the eighteenth century.”
Trip summary
- Coffee
- Turkish: kahve
- Italian: caffè
- coffee
Thus, it can be said that the word “coffee” is not merely the name of a beverage, but rather a linguistic and cultural bridge that has been carried across centuries, carried on ships and caravans from Yemen to the Ottomans, and from there to Europe, and then to every home in the world.