Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1810s
Café
from café
- Meaning
- A small restaurant serving coffee and light meals.
- Source word
- café
- Route into English
- French *café* (from Italian *caffè*, ultimately from Arabic *qahwa*) → English in the 19th century as the Continental coffeehouse model spread. Kept the French accent in formal writing; dropped in informal.
- Arrived
- 1810s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
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