entry
cafe
/kæˈfeɪ/Coffeehouse or casual restaurant serving drinks and food
From Italian, transmitted through French coffee (Coffee).
from Italian caffe "coffee" (see coffee). The beverage was introduced in Venice by 1615 and in France by 1650s by...
from French café "coffee, coffeehouse,"
Word Ancestry
from Italian caffe "coffee" (see coffee). The beverage was introduced in Venice by 1615 and in France by 1650s by...
from French café "coffee, coffeehouse,"
By 1615, merchants and travelers had brought the beverage to Venice; France encountered it in the 1650s, and the first public European café may have opened in Marseille in 1660. The drink’s name traveled with the drink: Italian caffe became French café, then entered English as cafe in 1802. A café was therefore not originally a chic little place for laptops and pastries, but a new European social machine built around an unfamiliar, stimulating drink. By 1922, “café society” described the fashionable people who circulated through dining spots and nightclubs. The word even acquired a distinct South African sense for a small general store or corner shop—proof that a café can be less Parisian salon and more neighborhood errand stop.
The Story
By 1615, merchants and travelers had brought the beverage to Venice; France encountered it in the 1650s, and the first public European café may have opened in Marseille in 1660. The drink’s name traveled with the drink: Italian caffe became French café, then entered English as cafe in 1802. A café was therefore not originally a chic little place for laptops and pastries, but a new European social machine built around an unfamiliar, stimulating drink. By 1922, “café society” described the fashionable people who circulated through dining spots and nightclubs. The word even acquired a distinct South African sense for a small general store or corner shop—proof that a café can be less Parisian salon and more neighborhood errand stop.
Modern Usage
In South African usage, a small general store or corner shop; a low-trust slang source also records an unrelated vulgar meaning.
Notable References
- Urban Dictionary entry defining cafe as a South African small general store
Kin & Kindred
From 'coffee'·Coffee; a coffeehouse serving it
Cognates
Related words in other languages
Derived Terms
English words from this root