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I would like to say, "I'm going to the cafe" in Latin, but the best I can come up with is "Eo ad cafe." What would be a good choice for "cafe"? I'm not sure if a similar concept existed in Ancient Rome (e.g. with other food/beverages), so there's a good chance I will be asking for a modern word or neologism. But whatever you think is the best choice - and gets well supported - should make me content.

Ben Kovitz
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ktm5124
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4 Answers4

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There have already been a few answers, but I have always liked the Morgan and Silva Furman University Lexicon, so here are the terms it gives for "cafe":

  1. thermopolium, -i, n.
  2. taberna cafearia
  3. cafeum
  4. cauponula
  5. deversorium
  6. taberna caldaria
  7. domus cafearia

This corroborates Ben Kovitz's answer, and provides several other options. The last few options were listed under "cafe/coffee-house," which may add a little variety.

Community
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Sam K
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    If you want to emphasize the connection to coffee or other hot drinks (café as opposed to a bar), you might want to add an adjective. I know, thermopolium cafearium is clumsy, but depending context, you might want to avoid ambiguity. – Joonas Ilmavirta Jun 21 '17 at 08:39
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I would suggest that if the Romans knew about coffee, it would most likely come via Greek, since coffee originated even further to the East in Ethiopia. The Modern Greek word for "cafe" is καφενείο, so I would suggest remodeling that as a Classical Greek καφενεῖον and then Latinizing that. I think either caphenion or capheneum would be acceptable.

varro
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    Yes, but the Romans did not know about coffee. Coffee did not reach Europe until the 17th century. – fdb Jun 20 '17 at 21:56
  • @fdb: The OP wanted a reasonable term for "cafe". I'm sure he/she knows (just like we do) that the Romans didn't have coffee. – varro Jun 20 '17 at 22:05
  • If you had written: "If the Romans had known about coffee, it would most likely have come..." I would not have objected. It is about English grammar. – fdb Jun 20 '17 at 22:21
  • @fdb: OK - fair enough. I did hesitate about the grammar, but thought it was clear the way it was written. – varro Jun 20 '17 at 23:05
  • “...the Romans did not know about coffee.” — Ay, what a pitiful life. – Der Übermensch Jun 22 '17 at 01:28
  • The fact that Romans didn't know about coffee is independent from the fact that Latin, with its 1500 year post-Roman history, already has several words for it. Coining yet another one, on a pseudo-historical premise is not the way to go when it comes to modern vocabulary, because if everyone did that, it would result in innumerous alternative translations based on each person's imaginative powers. There are cases where none of the existing words seem to be right, but in order to conclude that one needs to at least find out what these existing words are - by consulting the dictionaries. – Unbrutal_Russian Oct 31 '19 at 16:01
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De hac re nullam auctoritatem superiorem scio quam @NemoOudeis, qui vocabulum taberna caffearia sive in brevi taberna scribit:

https://twitter.com/search?q=%40nemooudeis%20taberna

Ben Kovitz
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6

Ainsworth's Dictionary (abridged) of 1758 suggests kuphipolium for coffee-house, and kupha for coffee.

Graham Asher
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  • Welcome to the site and thanks for the answer! (+1) This is an interesting find, although I'm unsure how many modern Latinists would understand these words. – Joonas Ilmavirta Jun 21 '17 at 12:13
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    You're welcome. I'll add a link to the book. (I am lucky enough to have a physical copy of the first edition, found in a second hand bookshop.) – Graham Asher Jun 23 '17 at 17:44