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moka

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Etymology and origin of the French word moka

Confidence
Established
Formation
Eponym
First attested
1762 Académie More words from the 18th century

Pronunciation

Forms

moka m (plural mokas)[1]

Etymology

It is the name of Moka (Mocha), a port of Yemen on the Red Sea that was the country's main harbour in the 17th and 18th centuries and the great centre of the export of Arabian coffee, used as a common noun.[2][3][4][5] The place name was first used in French in a phrase meaning “coffee from Moka” (1751), before the name on its own became a common noun (1762).[3][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Coffee shipped from Moka is mentioned in 1720; the Académie records du café de Moca, du moca in 1762, and Voltaire writes du Moka in 1767.[2][5] The first sense is a fine variety of coffee.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the coffee itself the word passed to the drink made from its beans and then, more broadly, to any coffee of high quality.[2][3] It also named a coffee liqueur, crème Moka (1823), later crème de Moka (1852).[2][3] In 1879 Huysmans uses it for a cake flavoured with coffee.[2][3] In Belgian French ice cream or éclairs flavoured with coffee are more often said to be au moka than au café.[3]

English mocha “fine coffee” is recorded from 1773, from the name of the same port.[6]

Timeline

  • 1720 – Coffee from Moka is mentioned in a journal.[2][3]
  • 1751 – Caffé de Moka appears in the Encyclopédie.[2][5]
  • 1762 – The Académie records moca as a noun.[2][5]
  • 1767 – Voltaire writes du Moka.[2][5]
  • 1823 – Crème Moka names a liqueur.[2]
  • 1879 – Huysmans uses it for a cake.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A highly prized variety of coffee, originally grown in southern Arabia.[2][7][8]
  2. The drink made from it, served in small cups; by extension, any fine coffee: une tasse de moka bien chaud.[2][7][8]
  3. A cake of sponge filled with butter cream flavoured with coffee (or chocolate).[7][8][1]
  4. Crème de moka: a liqueur made with coffee.[9][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
Cite this entry

“Moka.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/moka. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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