Etymology

kopi

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Today it means: A variety of gypsum found in southern Australia, sometimes containing opal, and traditionally used by Indigenous Australian in powdered form as body ornamentation for mourning ceremonies. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Baagandji kopi
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kopi · noun1

  1. Baagandji · borrowed fromkopi
  2. English todaykopi

From Baagandji kopi, gabi.

kopi · noun2

  1. Dutch · derived fromkoffie
  2. Malay · borrowed fromkopi“coffee”
  3. English todaykopi

From Malay kopi (“coffee”), from Dutch koffie with further influence of English coffee. Compare Hokkien 咖啡 (ko-pi / ko-phi), Teochew 咖啡 (go¹ bi⁵ / gu¹ bi⁵), Cantonese 咖啡 (go³ bi¹).

Words from the same roots

Malaykopi all →

kopitiamkopi luwak

Dutchkoffie all →

coffee

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. A variety of gypsum found in southern Australia, sometimes containing opal, and traditionally used by Indigenous Australian in powdered form as body ornamentation for mourning ceremonies.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.