fika

Where does the word "fika" come from? It comes from Swedish kaffe, passing through Swedish before entering English (2010s).

Fika’s story begins in Swedish: kaffe meant “coffee.” Coffee reached Sweden in the late 1600s; King Gustav III later tried to ban it in the 1700s. Within Swedish, it grew into fika by 1900s. Slang made by reversing the syllables of dialect 'kaffi': ka-fi became fi-ka. It reached English by 2010s as fika. Spread through Swedish cafés and books such as 'Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break' (2015). Today, fika means a Swedish coffee break with something sweet.

1. Stage 1 · Swedish · 1700s kaffe "coffee", coffee reached Sweden in the late 1600s; King Gustav III later tried to ban it in the 1700s.
2. Stage 2 · Swedish · 1900s fika "coffee break", slang made by reversing the syllables of dialect 'kaffi': ka-fi became fi-ka.
3. Stage 3 · English · 2010s fika "coffee break", spread through Swedish cafés and books such as 'Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break' (2015).