coffee

KAW-fee/ˈkɔ.fi/KOF-ee/ˈkɒf.i/

Pluralcoffees (some meanings)

8 meanings of coffee

1
drinknoununcountable
A drink made by brewing roasted, ground coffee beans in water, usually hot, or a serving of this drink.
Freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen with its rich aroma.
Many people rely on coffee to stay alert through long workdays.
UsageNo a for the drink in general: I like coffee. For one serving, a cup of coffee or a coffee.
Note
Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy spells it coffa and describes a Turkish drink made from a berry 'as black as soot, and as bitter,' sipped as hot as the drinker can bear. By 1672 Thomas Shadwell's The Miser already pairs drinking coffee with talking politics and reading gazettes.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Robert Burton wrote The Anatomy of Melancholy. en.wikipedia.org
Burton's text uses the spelling coffa and describes a Turkish drink made from a berry. en.wiktionary.org
Burton describes the berry as 'as black as soot, and as bitter' and says the drink is sipped as hot as the drinkers can tolerate. en.wiktionary.org
Thomas Shadwell's The Miser was first published in 1672. celm.folger.edu
The Miser associates drinking coffee with discussing politics and reading gazettes. en.wiktionary.org
2
beansnouncountable or uncountable
The seeds of the coffee plant, raw or roasted, whole or ground, especially as used to make the drink.
Buyers inspect each batch of green coffee carefully before purchase.
They roast the coffee until it turns dark and slightly oily.
3
plantnouncountable or uncountable
A tropical plant of the genus Coffea, grown for the seeds used to make the drink.
Coffee thrives in the shade of taller trees on mountain slopes.
Disease can wipe out an entire field of coffee within weeks.

Less common meanings

4
end of mealnouncountable or uncountable
The closing part of a meal, at which coffee is served.
The speeches were saved for coffee at the end of the banquet.
Conversation, which had flagged during the main course, revived at coffee, and nobody seemed in any hurry to leave.
UsageUsually after for or at, with no article: stay for coffee, at coffee.
Note
Here coffee names a stage of the meal rather than what is in the cup. So when someone 'did not stay for coffee,' the point is not what they drank but that they left the table before the meal was properly over.
5
brown-tonedadjective
Pale brown in color, like coffee lightened with milk.
She admired the coffee tones in the antique rug.
The bridesmaids wore dresses of coffee lace trimmed with cream ribbon.
Similartan, beige, taupe, fawn
6
nouncountable or uncountable
A pale brown color, like that of coffee with milk added.
The designer chose coffee for the upholstery to warm the room.
Her dress was a rich coffee that complemented her cream scarf.
Similartan, beige, taupe, fawn, latte
7
verbintransitive
To drink coffee.
He coffeed and sandwiched along the highway.
1965, Thea Astley, The Slow Natives
We sat and coffee’d with people in the living room.
1973, Experiences in Rural Mental Health: Developing Citizen Participation
Note
A verb made straight from the noun, with a light, playful ring. Writers like to line it up with other meals turned into verbs. In a sketch by Thomas Chandler Haliburton, the speaker 'coffeed, wined, and went to bed sobbing.' The past is spelled either coffeed or coffee'd.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
The verb is formed from the noun coffee. lingua.tsukuba.ac.jp
A speaker in a work by Thomas Chandler Haliburton uses the quoted wording. en.wiktionary.org
Both past-tense spellings are recorded. en.wiktionary.org
8
serveverbtransitive
To give or serve coffee to someone.
You all fed me and coffee’d me and warmed me up.
2014, Steve Ulfelder, Wolverine Bros
There we were met by enterprising citizens and coffeed and sandwiched by pretty girls.
1929, Howard W[allace] Peak, A Ranger of Commerce or 52 Years on the Road
Note
The serving verb usually appears in the passive, describing crowds being looked after: veteran firemen's New Year callers in 1897, drafted men at Camp Wheeler in 1917, soldiers at an Elks canteen in 1942. It almost always travels with sandwiched, a matched pair of jokey verbs for a free snack. Hosts and canteens do the coffeeing; the drinking verb belongs to the people holding the cups.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
An 1897 account describes veteran firemen's New Year callers being served sandwiches and coffee. en.wiktionary.org
A 1917 account describes drafted men being served coffee at Camp Wheeler. en.wiktionary.org
A 1942 account describes soldiers being served sandwiches and coffee at an Elks canteen. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

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Origin

Borrowed from Dutch koffie, which came from Italian caffè, from Ottoman Turkish kahve, and ultimately from Arabic qahwa. It is a doublet of café and caffè and is related to the words for "coffee" in most major European languages.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

English coffee was borrowed from Dutch koffie. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch koffie derives through Italian caffè and Ottoman Turkish kahve from Arabic qahwa. en.wiktionary.org
Coffee, café and caffè are doublets. en.wiktionary.org
Coffee is etymologically related to the words for coffee in most major European languages. en.wiktionary.org