carafe

Where does the word "carafe" come from? It comes from Arabic gharrafa, passing through Italian before entering English (1800s).

Carafe’s story begins in Arabic: gharrafa meant “a water vessel.” A vessel for drawing and holding water, from gharafa (to draw water). By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Italian as carafa. Carried into Italian for a glass water or wine vessel. It reached English by 1800s as carafe. First recorded in 1786 in the Scottish novelist Henry Mackenzie, borrowed from French. Today, carafe means an open-topped glass container used for serving water or wine.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval gharrafa "a water vessel", a vessel for drawing and holding water, from gharafa (to draw water).
2. Stage 2 · Italian · 1500s carafa "a glass water or wine vessel", carried into Italian for a glass water or wine vessel.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s carafe "a glass container for serving water or wine", first recorded in 1786 in the Scottish novelist Henry Mackenzie, borrowed from French.