See Also: coffee(encyclopedia)
coffee pot(dictionary)
coffee bar(dictionary)
Go Coffee Etc(tourism)
coffee(dictionary)
coffee(dictionary)
coffee(medicine)
Coffee on Milwaukee(tourism)
Coffee and the City(tourism)
Coffee and Tea Exchange(tourism)

coffee (iou)



coffee noun & adjective. L16.
[Turkish kahve ult. from Arab. &kdbelow;ahwa, prob. through Dutch koffie.]
A. noun.
A drink made by infusion from the seeds of a shrub (see sense 3) roasted and ground or (in the East) pounded. L16.
b. A cupful of, or light refreshments including, this drink. L18.
Seeds of this shrub, either raw or roasted (and ground). E17.
The shrub or tree from which the seeds are obtained: any of certain members of the palaeotropical genus Coffea (esp. C. arabica), of the madder family, which bear white flowers succeeded by red berries each containing two seeds. E17.
The light brown colour of white coffee. E19.
Phrases: black coffee: served without milk or cream. Gaelic coffee: served with cream and (now usu. Scotch) whisky. Irish coffee: served with cream and Irish whiskey. KENYA coffee. ROBUSTA coffee. Scotch coffee: see SCOTCH adjective. sergeant-major's coffee: see SERGEANT-MAJOR noun 4. Turkish coffee: see TURKISH adjective. Viennese coffee: see VIENNESE adjective. white coffee: served with milk or cream.
Comb.: coffee-and US slang coffee and doughnuts; coffee bar a cafe serving coffee and light refreshments; coffee bean the seed of the coffee tree; coffee-berry (a) the fruit or (loosely) the seed of the coffee tree; (b) US the Kentucky coffee tree; coffee-break an interval, usu. between periods of work, esp. mid-morning, when coffee is drunk; coffee cake (a) N. Amer. a cake or sweet bread flavoured with cinnamon or topped or filled with cinnamon sugar, usu. eaten with coffee; (b) a coffee-flavoured cake; coffee-coloured adjective (a) of the colour of white coffee; (b) (of a person) having a light brown skin colour; coffee-cup a cup of a special shape or size for holding coffee; coffee-essence concentrated extract of coffee; coffee grounds the granular sediment remaining in coffee after infusion; coffee-house noun & verb (a) noun a place where coffee and other refreshments are provided, esp. one used in the 17th and 18th cents. as a centre for political and literary conversation, circulation of news, etc.; (b) verb intrans. (slang) stand about gossiping, orig. while waiting for the hounds at a meet; coffee-maker spec. a device for brewing coffee; coffee-mill a hand-mill for grinding roasted coffee beans; coffee-morning a morning gathering, often in aid of charity, at which coffee is served; coffee nibs: see NIB noun1 6; coffee-pot a tall covered pot with a spout, in which coffee is made or served; coffee-room a public room where coffee etc. is served; formerly, the dining-room in a hotel; coffee-shop (a) a shop selling coffee beans or ground coffee; (b) a small restaurant, usu. attached to a hotel; coffee-spoon a small spoon for stirring coffee in a cup; coffee stall a movable structure at which coffee and other refreshments are sold; coffee-table a small low table for serving coffee (coffee-table book (usu. derog.), a large expensive lavishly illustrated book); coffee tree (a) a tree or shrub from which coffee is obtained (= sense 3 above); (b) N. Amer. a leguminous tree, Gymnocladus dioica, whose seeds can be used as a substitute for coffee (also more fully Kentucky coffee tree).
b. adjective. Of the light brown colour of white coffee. E20.