Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cafeteria” come from?

Cafeteria comes from Spanish cafetería, derived from Spanish cafetero, referring to a coffee grower or coffee merchant.

cafeteria (English): A restaurant in which customers select their food...

Definitions

  1. A restaurant in which customers select their food...

Ancestry of “cafeteria”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishcafeteríacafeteria; diner
2Spanishcafeterocoffee
3Spanishcafébrown; coffee; cafe, coffee shop
4Frenchcafécoffee; coffee colour; public house
5Italiancaffècoffee; a café
6Turkishkahvecoffee
7Ottoman Turkishقهوهcoffee
8Persianقهوهcoffee
9Arabicقهوةwine; coffee; coffee shop, café

Words derived from “cafeteria”

  • Cafeteria
  • καφετέρια
Every word from Arabic قهوة →