cappuccino

See also: Cappuccino

English

cappuccino

Etymology

1904, borrowed from Italian cappuccino, from Viennese German Kapuziner (“Capuchin”), due to the similarity of the color of the beverage to the monastic habit of dark brown; compare Franziskaner (“Franciscan”), a contemporary coffee drink with more milk and hence a lighter color, more similar to the latter monks’ habits of light brown. The German term Kapuziner is in turn a loan translation from Italian cappuccino (“Capuchin”) (thus the Italian word for the coffee beverage is a reborrowing), from Italian cappuccio (“hood, cowl”) + -ino (“(diminutive)”), due to the hood of the Capuchin monks’ habits, from Italian cappa (“hood, cowl”) + -uccio (“(diminutive)”) (note two diminutive suffixes), in turn from Late Latin cappa (English cape).

Doublet of Capuchin, also from Italian cappuccino (via Middle French capuchin).

Details

In English attested 1904 as “[small] coffee mixed with milk”, 1933 as “express strong coffee diluted with milk”; in Italian 1905 as “black coffee ‘corrected’ with milk”, and still in 1931 as “black coffee mixed with a little milk”; the modern sense of a coffee drink made with espresso at a bar presumably developed in the 1930s in Italian, and was borrowed into English. The Italian term is of Northern Italian origin, in areas of former or contemporary Austrian rule and influence. The German term Capuzinerkaffee (Capuchin coffee) is attested 1790, referring to a rather different drink (boiled coffee with cream, sugar, spice, and whisked eggs), though by 1848 and into the early 1900s the Kapuziner had come to mean a drink of coffee and milk, with more coffee than milk, by contrast with the Melange, which had more milk than coffee; this usage continues to the present.

The etymology is confusing for a number of reasons. Firstly, the sense of “coffee beverage” originated in German, not in Italian, but the word (in the sense “Capuchin monk”) was loan-translated from Italian into German and then the sense of “coffee beverage” was reborrowed back into Italian. Secondly, the beverage that it refers to has changed over time: the modern international beverage is based on the Italian espresso-based, milk foam-topped drink of the mid-1900s, not the Viennese drink of coffee plus milk or cream from the 1800s; in Viennese coffeehouses, the Kapuziner and Franziskaner are still served, while the Viennese equivalent of the modern foam-topped cappuccino is the Melange. Thirdly, the association of the word with the drink is sometimes (erroneously) believed to be due to the “cap” of foam in the modern espresso-based form of the drink, though at the time the word was coined (in the 1700s) the drink only consisted of adding milk or cream to coffee: espresso machines date to the 1880s and foam-topped cappuccinos date to the mid-1900s, long after the word was established.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkæpəˈtʃinoʊ/
• IPA^(key): /ˌkæpəˈtʃiːnəʊ/
• Rhymes: -iːnəʊ
• Hyphenation: cap‧puc‧ci‧no

Noun

cappuccino (countable and uncountable, plural cappuccinos)

1. (uncountable) An Italian coffee-based beverage made from espresso and milk that has been steamed and/or frothed.
2. (countable) A cup of this beverage.
3. (uncountable, proscribed) Other similar drinks.
   • 1948, Robert O’Brien, This is San Francisco: A Classic Portrait of the City, New York: Whittlesey House, page 84:

     A step from the corner of Grant Avenue and Broadway is a café called “La Tosca.” Scenes from the opera are painted on the walls; Caruso sings from the juke box, and you drink a cappuccino, gray, like the robe of a capuchin monk, and made of chocolate that is laced with brandy or rum, and heated by steam forced through coffee.

     Note that the color of the monks’ robes is misidentified as gray, rather than dark brown. Further, the drink at Tosca Cafe consisted of chocolate, steamed milk, and brandy, but no coffee, hence its grey color, rather than brown.

4. (uncountable) Capuchin or the color, especially cappuccino brown.
   • 1928, The Detroit Free Press (Detroit, Michigan), 1928-09-29:

     English Grey or Cappuccino Brown

Related terms

• latte

Translations

beverage

• Arabic: كَابُتْشِينُو m (kābutšīnū)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 卡布奇諾／卡布奇诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布奇诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布其諾／卡布其诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布其诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布基諾／卡布基诺 (kǎbùjīnuò), 卡布基诺 (kǎbùjīnuò)

• Faroese: cappuccino m
• Finnish: cappuccino (fi)
• French: cappuccino (fr) m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Cappuccino (de) m
• Greek: καπουτσίνο (el) m (kapoutsíno)
• Hebrew: קַפוּצִ׳ינוֹ m
• Hindi: कापुचीनो m (kāpucīno)
• Hungarian: kapucsínó (hu)
• Italian: cappuccino (it) m
• Japanese: カプチーノ (kapuchīno)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Korean: 카푸치노 (kapuchino)
• Macedonian: капучи́но n (kapučíno)
• Malay: kapucino
• Maori: kawhe kaputīno
• Marathi: कापुचीनो (kāpucīno)
• Norwegian: cappuccino (no) m
• Persian: کاپوچینو (fa) (kâpučinu)
• Portuguese: cappuccino (pt) m
• Russian: капучи́но (ru) m or n (kapučíno)
• Sicilian: cappuccinu (scn) m
• Spanish: capuchino m
• Swedish: cappuccino (sv) c
• Tagalog: kaputsino
• Thai: คัปปุชชีโน (th) (káp-bpùt-chii-nôo)
• Urdu: کاپچینو (kāpucīno)

cup of this beverage

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 卡布奇諾／卡布奇诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布奇诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布其諾／卡布其诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布其诺 (zh) (kǎbùqínuò), 卡布基諾／卡布基诺 (kǎbùjīnuò), 卡布基诺 (kǎbùjīnuò)

• Finnish: cappuccino (fi)
• French: cappuccino (fr) m
• German: Cappuccino (de) m
• Greek: καπουτσίνο (el) m (kapoutsíno)
• Hebrew: קַפוּצִ׳ינוֹ m
• Italian: cappuccino (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: カプチーノ (kapuchīno)
• Macedonian: капучи́но n (kapučíno)
• Norwegian: cappuccino (no) m
• Portuguese: cappuccino (pt) m
• Sicilian: cappuccinu (scn) m
• Spanish: capuchino m
• Swedish: cappuccino (sv) c

---

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

cappuccino m (plural cappuccino's, diminutive cappuccinootje n)

1. cappuccino

---

Finnish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Noun

cappuccino

1. cappuccino (beverage and serving)

Declension

Inflection of cappuccino (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative		cappuccino	cappuccinot
genitive		cappuccinon	cappuccinojen
partitive		cappuccinoa	cappuccinoja
illative		cappuccinoon	cappuccinoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		cappuccino	cappuccinot
accusative	nom.	cappuccino	cappuccinot
	gen.	cappuccinon
genitive		cappuccinon	cappuccinojen
partitive		cappuccinoa	cappuccinoja
inessive		cappuccinossa	cappuccinoissa
elative		cappuccinosta	cappuccinoista
illative		cappuccinoon	cappuccinoihin
adessive		cappuccinolla	cappuccinoilla
ablative		cappuccinolta	cappuccinoilta
allative		cappuccinolle	cappuccinoille
essive		cappuccinona	cappuccinoina
translative		cappuccinoksi	cappuccinoiksi
abessive		cappuccinotta	cappuccinoitta
instructive		—	cappuccinoin
comitative		See the possessive forms below.

Possessive forms of cappuccino (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)

first-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cappuccinoni cappuccinoni accusative nom. cappuccinoni cappuccinoni gen. cappuccinoni genitive cappuccinoni cappuccinojeni partitive cappuccinoani cappuccinojani inessive cappuccinossani cappuccinoissani elative cappuccinostani cappuccinoistani illative cappuccinooni cappuccinoihini adessive cappuccinollani cappuccinoillani ablative cappuccinoltani cappuccinoiltani allative cappuccinolleni cappuccinoilleni essive cappuccinonani cappuccinoinani translative cappuccinokseni cappuccinoikseni abessive cappuccinottani cappuccinoittani instructive — — comitative — cappuccinoineni second-person singular possessor singular plural nominative cappuccinosi cappuccinosi accusative nom. cappuccinosi cappuccinosi gen. cappuccinosi genitive cappuccinosi cappuccinojesi partitive cappuccinoasi cappuccinojasi inessive cappuccinossasi cappuccinoissasi elative cappuccinostasi cappuccinoistasi illative cappuccinoosi cappuccinoihisi adessive cappuccinollasi cappuccinoillasi ablative cappuccinoltasi cappuccinoiltasi allative cappuccinollesi cappuccinoillesi essive cappuccinonasi cappuccinoinasi translative cappuccinoksesi cappuccinoiksesi abessive cappuccinottasi cappuccinoittasi instructive — — comitative — cappuccinoinesi first-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cappuccinomme cappuccinomme accusative nom. cappuccinomme cappuccinomme gen. cappuccinomme genitive cappuccinomme cappuccinojemme partitive cappuccinoamme cappuccinojamme inessive cappuccinossamme cappuccinoissamme elative cappuccinostamme cappuccinoistamme illative cappuccinoomme cappuccinoihimme adessive cappuccinollamme cappuccinoillamme ablative cappuccinoltamme cappuccinoiltamme allative cappuccinollemme cappuccinoillemme essive cappuccinonamme cappuccinoinamme translative cappuccinoksemme cappuccinoiksemme abessive cappuccinottamme cappuccinoittamme instructive — — comitative — cappuccinoinemme second-person plural possessor singular plural nominative cappuccinonne cappuccinonne accusative nom. cappuccinonne cappuccinonne gen. cappuccinonne genitive cappuccinonne cappuccinojenne partitive cappuccinoanne cappuccinojanne inessive cappuccinossanne cappuccinoissanne elative cappuccinostanne cappuccinoistanne illative cappuccinoonne cappuccinoihinne adessive cappuccinollanne cappuccinoillanne ablative cappuccinoltanne cappuccinoiltanne allative cappuccinollenne cappuccinoillenne essive cappuccinonanne cappuccinoinanne translative cappuccinoksenne cappuccinoiksenne abessive cappuccinottanne cappuccinoittanne instructive — — comitative — cappuccinoinenne third-person possessor singular plural nominative cappuccinonsa cappuccinonsa accusative nom. cappuccinonsa cappuccinonsa gen. cappuccinonsa genitive cappuccinonsa cappuccinojensa partitive cappuccinoaan cappuccinoansa cappuccinojaan cappuccinojansa inessive cappuccinossaan cappuccinossansa cappuccinoissaan cappuccinoissansa elative cappuccinostaan cappuccinostansa cappuccinoistaan cappuccinoistansa illative cappuccinoonsa cappuccinoihinsa adessive cappuccinollaan cappuccinollansa cappuccinoillaan cappuccinoillansa ablative cappuccinoltaan cappuccinoltansa cappuccinoiltaan cappuccinoiltansa allative cappuccinolleen cappuccinollensa cappuccinoilleen cappuccinoillensa essive cappuccinonaan cappuccinonansa cappuccinoinaan cappuccinoinansa translative cappuccinokseen cappuccinoksensa cappuccinoikseen cappuccinoiksensa abessive cappuccinottaan cappuccinottansa cappuccinoittaan cappuccinoittansa instructive — — comitative — cappuccinoineen cappuccinoinensa

---

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

cappuccino m (plural cappuccinos)

1. cappuccino

---

Italian

Etymology

From cappuccio (“hood, cowl”) +‎ -ino. The coffee name gets its name from the colour of the beverage, which reminds of the colour of monks' habits.

Noun

cappuccino m (plural cappuccini)

1. Capuchin
2. cappuccino

   Synonym: (informall) cappuccio

3. (slang) French letter, rubber johnny (condom)

Descendants

• → Dutch: cappuccino
• → English: cappuccino
• → Finnish: cappuccino
• → French: cappuccino
• → German: Cappuccino
• → Portuguese: cappuccino
• → Spanish: cappuccino
• → Swedish: cappuccino

Adjective

1. Capuchin

---

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Noun

1. cappuccino (type of coffee)

---

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Noun

cappuccino m (plural cappuccinos)

1. cappuccino

---

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian cappuccino.

Noun

cappuccino c

1. cappuccino

Declension

Declension of cappuccino
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	cappuccino	cappuccinon	—	—
Genitive	cappuccinos	cappuccinons	—	—