Cafe

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌkæˈfeɪ/

Definitions

1. A small establishment that focuses on serving coffee and light snacks to patrons seeking a relaxed environment for conversation and socializing
2. A casual venue where individuals can enjoy coffee and light meals while socializing in a comfortable setting
3. An informal eating place specializing in coffee beverages and light fare for a relaxed dining experience

Etymology: The word "cafe" is the unaccented spelling of "café," and the accent is the only part of it that English has never fully adopted. The French word means both "coffee" and "coffee shop," so the English term carries the same double sense, and it arrived unchanged from French rather than being reshaped to fit English spelling or pronunciation. That is why it keeps its French stress pattern, which is why the pronunciation given here lands on the second syllable. The word belongs to a family that also includes "coffee" and the Italian "caffè," all descended from the same source and all pointing back to the drink's origins far from Paris. Dictionaries treat these as doublets: separate borrowings from one ancestor that entered English by different routes. "Coffee" came in through the Dutch and English trade networks, while "café" arrived directly from France, which is why the two look so different on the page despite describing the same bean.

Synonyms: coffeehouse, bistro, tearoom