The story
- Italian · borrowed fromcaffè“coffee”
- German · borrowed fromCaffein
- French · borrowed fromcaféine
- English todaycaffeine
Borrowed from French caféine, from café (“coffee”), or German Caffein, Kaffein (cp. Coffein, Koffein), from Kaffee (“coffee”) (cp. Kaffe, Koffee, Koffe), or Italian caffè (“coffee”) + -ine.
Words from the same roots
Italiancaffè all →
coffeecaffeiccaffècaffè mocha
First known use, by meaning
- from 1830 An alkaloid, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂, found naturally in tea and coffee plants, which acts as a mild stimulant on the central nervous system.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.