English
espresso
Espresso comes from Italian espresso, from caffè ‘pressed-out coffee’, and ultimately from Latin exprimere.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexprimere
- Italianc. 1300–presentesprimere‘to press out’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcaffè‘pressed-out coffee’form of esprimere
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentespresso
- Englishearliest quotation 2009same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexprimere
- Italianc. 1300–presentesprimere‘to press out’
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentcaffè‘pressed-out coffee’form of esprimere
- Italian, derivedc. 1300–presentespresso
- Englishearliest quotation 2009same form
Earliest quotation: 2009, Kenneth Davids, Convenience First: Espresso Pods and Capsules: “It is no surprise that over the last decade…”
The story
Some sources derive the term from "expressly" ("individually, directly") made for the customer, or from the Italian espresso ("fast"), as in the English word express ("fast"), although these explanations are not widely accepted. The original term for modern espresso (coffee extracted under pressure) was cream coffee, from Italian caffè crema (variant: crema caffè), due to the crema, and appeared on early Gaggia machines, but this term is no longer used.
Linked words
through Italian caffè ‘pressed-out coffee’
Today it means
noun A concentrated coffee beverage brewed by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin exprimere / espresso