Etymograph

English

latte

Latte comes from Italian caffellatte ‘coffee and hot milk, served separately in two…’, and goes back to Latin lac.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElac
  2. Italianc. 1300–presentcaffellatte‘coffee and hot milk, served separately in two pots as a breakfast drink’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1991latte

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElac
  2. Italianc. 1300–presentcaffellatte‘coffee and hot milk, served separately in two pots as a breakfast drink’
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1991latte

Earliest quotation: 1991, Jayne Ann Krentz, New York: “Lilian Benedict walked into the office carrying two cups…”

Linked words

through Latin lac

lettuce, lactose, lactic, spironolactone, lactate, 9 more

Today it means

noun A drink of coffee made from espresso and steamed milk, generally topped with foam.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Latin lac / latte

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