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Word Origins are Fun

January 26, 2017 by Jane

situation
late 15c., “place, position, or location,” from Medieval Latin situationem (nom. situatio), from Low Latin situatus, pp. of situare (see situate). Meaning “state of affairs” is from 1750; meaning “employment post” is from 1803.

onus
c.1640, from Latin onus (gen. oneris) “load, burden.” Hence legal L. onus probandi (1722), lit. “burden of proving.”

coffee
c.1600, from Italian caffe, from Turkish kahveh, from Arabic qahwah “coffee,” said originally to have meant “wine,” but perhaps rather from Kaffa region of Ethiopia, a home of the plant (Coffee in Kaffa is called buno). Much initial diversity of spelling, including chaoua. Appeared in Europe c.1515-1519. Introduced to England by 1650; by 1675 England had more than 3,000 coffee houses. Coffee plantations established in Brazil 1727.

And now, you know.

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