Where does “Kawai” come from?
Kawai (Hawaiian) comes from Yurok kawe, from Spanish café, from French café, from Italian caffè, from Turkish kahve, from Ottoman Turkish قهوه, from Persian قهوه, from Arabic قهوة — wine; coffee; coffee shop, café.
Ancestry of “Kawai”, step by step
Kawai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Yurok kawe
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yurok | kawe | coffee |
| 2 | Spanish | café | brown; coffee; cafe, coffee shop |
| 3 | French | café | coffee; coffee colour; public house |
| 4 | Italian | caffè | coffee; a café |
| 5 | Turkish | kahve | coffee |
| 6 | Ottoman Turkish | قهوه | coffee |
| 7 | Persian | قهوه | coffee |
| 8 | Arabic | قهوة | wine; coffee; coffee shop, café |
via Japanese 河合
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japanese | 河合 | — |