English
caffeine
Caffeine comes from French caféine.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcaféine
- Englishearliest quotation 1839caffeine
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcaféine
- Englishearliest quotation 1839caffeine
Earliest quotation: 1839, Justus von Liebig, Instructions for Organic Analysis: “For example, 0.100 grams of caffeine yield by combustion,…”
Formed from -ine
Linked words
through Ottoman Turkish قهوه ‘coffee’
through Italian caffè ‘coffee’
coffee, espresso, kopi, 6 more
through French café ‘coffee’
Today it means
noun An alkaloid, C₈H₁₀N₄O₂, found naturally in tea and coffee plants, which acts as a mild stimulant on the central nervous system.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French caféine / caffeine