All about coffee by William H. Ukers
3. The foreign forms are unstressed and have no _h_. The original _v_ or
429 words | Chapter 39
_w_ (or labialized _u_) is retained or changed into _f_.
It may be stated, accordingly, that the chief reason for the existence
of two distinct types of spelling is the omission of _h_ in unstressed
languages, and the conversion of _h_ into _f_ under strong stress in
stressed languages. Such conversion often takes place in Turkish; for
example, _silah dar_ in Persian (which is a highly stressed language)
becomes _zilif dar_ in Turkish. In the languages of India, on the other
hand, in spite of the fact that the aspirate is usually very clearly
sounded, the word _qahvah_ is pronounced _kaiva_ by the less
educated classes, owing to the syllables being equally stressed.
Now for the French viewpoint. Jardin[3] opines that, as regards the
etymology of the word coffee, scholars are not agreed and perhaps never
will be. Dufour[4] says the word is derived from _caouhe_, a name given
by the Turks to the beverage prepared from the seed. Chevalier
d'Arvieux, French consul at Alet, Savary, and Trevoux, in his
dictionary, think that coffee comes from the Arabic, but from the word
_cahoueh_ or _quaweh_, meaning to give vigor or strength, because, says
d'Arvieux, its most general effect is to fortify and strengthen.
Tavernier combats this opinion. Moseley attributes the origin of the
word coffee to Kaffa. Sylvestre de Sacy, in his _Chréstomathie Arabe_,
published in 1806, thinks that the word _kahwa_, synonymous with
_makli_, roasted in a stove, might very well be the etymology of the
word coffee. D'Alembert in his encyclopedic dictionary, writes the word
_caffé_. Jardin concludes that whatever there may be in these various
etymologies, it remains a fact that the word coffee comes from an
Arabian word, whether it be _kahua_, _kahoueh_, _kaffa_ or _kahwa_, and
that the peoples who have adopted the drink have all modified the
Arabian word to suit their pronunciation. This is shown by giving the
word as written in various modern languages:
French, _café_; Breton, _kafe_; German, _kaffee_ (coffee tree,
_kaffeebaum_); Dutch, _koffie_ (coffee tree, _koffieboonen_); Danish,
_kaffe_; Finnish, _kahvi_; Hungarian, _kavé_; Bohemian, _kava_; Polish,
_kawa_; Roumanian, _cafea_; Croatian, _kafa_; Servian, _kava_; Russian,
_kophe_; Swedish, _kaffe_; Spanish, _café_; Basque, _kaffia_; Italian,
_caffè_; Portuguese, _café_; Latin (scientific), _coffea_; Turkish,
_kahué_; Greek, _kaféo_; Arabic, _qahwah_ (coffee berry, _bun_);
Persian, _qéhvé_ (coffee berry, _bun_[5]); Annamite, _ca-phé_;
Cambodian, _kafé_; Dukni[6], _bunbund_[7]; Teluyan[8], _kapri-vittulu_;
Tamil[9], _kapi-kottai_ or _kopi_; Canareze[10], _kapi-bija_; Chinese,
_kia-fey_, _teoutsé_; Japanese, _kéhi_; Malayan, _kawa_, _koppi_;
Abyssinian, _bonn_[11]; Foulak, _legal café_[12]; Sousou, _houri
caff_[13]; Marquesan, _kapi_; Chinook[14], _kaufee_; Volapuk, _kaf_;
Esperanto, _kafva_.
[Illustration: THE FAIRY BEAUTY OF A COFFEE TREE IN FLOWER]
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