Warning - I'm a former English teacher and my all my family members and many of my friends are word-o-holics.
Yesterday, we had a word discussion about goats, goat milk, beverages made with goat milk, Spanish, English, Italian, and other topics.
I had made some absolutely incredible cappuccino with goat milk and the San Antonio variety of our local Texas store's coffee. It's made by H.E.B. (one of the largest family owned grocery stores) and comes in San Antonio, Austin, and Hill Country varieties. It's a robust coffee.
We were exploring what to call a goat milk cappuccino.
Here's the origin of the term cappuccino:
Cappuccino originated as a beverage in 19th century Vienna cafés, where the coffee menus were innovative: the customers could choose among up to 20 variations of coffees; mostly variations of black coffee and milk or cream. Innovative names like "Kapuziner," "Franziskaner," "Pharisäer," and so forth were invented.
The 'kapuziner' ('cappuccino' in Italian) was so named from the color of the Capuchin friars' habit, which is light/darkish brown and at that time a frequently used term. The Italian 'version' of the Austrian beverage had come south in the first decades of the 20th century and grew in popularity as the large espresso machines in cafés and restaurants were improved during and after WW2. By the 1950's, the Italian cappuccino had found its form. The name 'cappuccino' is inspired by the color of the beverage (the blend of coffee and milk), which is a brownish-red, and has nothing to do with the 'cap' of foam, which was a later addition to the drink, nor the description of a white hood or white rope as part of the costume: this is incorrect. The name of the friars themselves (and the monkey also named after them) comes from the Italian word for hood, "cappuccio" [kap'put:ʃo], which is also often used colloquially for the beverage (the '-ino' suffix denotes a diminutive in Italian). The Capuchin friars' habit again was inspired by St Francisco from Assisi's original costume—with a pointed hood and this color—as it is preserved in the basilica in Assisi.
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As we are so close (culturally) to Mexico, even though it's an five hour drive to the border, I looked up the Spanish words for goat. A female is a "cabra" and a male is a "cabron." Unfortunately, the word cabron is also the slang word for cuckold, or a generally low life male, and a very, very derogatory word.
The Spanish word for milk is "leche," but I can't find a separate word for goat milk.
A search for coffee products in Spanish leads here:
café, noun:
coffee, café
How do you like your coffee? If you go into a bar or restaurant in Latin America or Spain, you will find a variety of ways of serving coffee. If you like it very milky, go for un café con leche (a coffee with milk), made using a little strong coffee and a lot of hot milk. For a large black coffee that’s not very strong, order un café americano. But if you like your black coffee strong, order un café solo (a black coffee). In Columbia this would be called un café tinto, or un café cerrero (meaning bitter) if it’s even stronger. Another alternative is un cortado, which is a small cup of coffee with only a little milk.
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At this point, I'm frustrated. I can't call my beverage "cabronccino," the equivalent of S.O.B coffee!
My mother and grandfather would have switched their search to Latin much earlier in the quest. One of my vivid childhood memories is my grandfather telling me that if I didn't take a Latin course in high school that he would disown me. I didn't, and he didn't, but my resistance to Latin remains.
Latin for domestic goat is Capra aegagrus hircus. This is the source of our English word "caprine," meaning all things pertaining to goats.
The search for the perfect word became clear instantly....
Capriccino is my morning beverage of choice. :baby04:
