kopitiam

The story

1. Malay · derived fromkopi“coffee”
2. Hokkien · derived from咖啡店
3. Malay · borrowed fromkopitiam
4. English todaykopitiam

Borrowed from Malay kopitiam, from Hokkien 咖啡店 (ko-pi-tiàm), in turn from Malay kopi (“coffee”).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 20th c. A traditional style of eatery having public seating and multiple vendors selling Chinese, Indian, and Malay food.