Abstract
Abstract Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain the etymology of Old It. (zucchero) caffettino (Jaffa < Yāfā, cafis < qafīz, Caffa = Feodosia, caffa < qafaṣ, Haifa < Ḥayfā, Kafá < ?, coffa < quffa(h)). All these proposals, however, are unsustainable for reasons of cultural-historical and/or semantic, phonetic and morphological incompatibilities. In reality the etymon is the Arabic nisba adjective of the name of the Egyptian city of Qifṭ (qiftī), which in Medieval times was highly renowned for its sugar production. The Arabic equivalent of zucchero caffettino is as-sukkar al-qiftī. The phonomorphological adaptation of caffettino is absolutely regular (anaptyctical e, gemination f > ff, initial ca- < qi-, final –ī > -ino); the original type qiftī is still reflected by the ancient Italian and Romance variants chafethi, cafeti and cafati.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callSimilar Papers
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
