coffee

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various tropical African shrubs or trees of the genus Coffea, especially C. arabica, widely cultivated in the tropics for their seeds that are dried, roasted, and ground to prepare a stimulating aromatic drink.
2. n. The beanlike seeds of this plant, enclosed within a pulpy fruit.
3. n. The beverage prepared from the seeds of this plant.
4. n. A moderate brown to dark brown or dark grayish brown.
5. n. An informal social gathering at which coffee and other refreshments are served.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The berry of trees belonging to the genus Coffea, natural order Rubiaceæ. Several species, but principally C. Arabica, produce the coffee of commerce. It is a native of Arabia and Abyssinia, but is now extensively cultivated throughout tropical countries. It will grow to the height of 16 or 18 feet, but is seldom permitted to exceed 8 or 9 feet, for the convenience of gathering the fruit. The stem is upright, and covered with a light-brown bark; the branches are horizontal and opposite. The flowers grow in clusters at the bases of the leaves, are pure white, and of an agreeable odor. The fruit is a small, red, fleshy berry, having the size and appearance of a small cherry. Each berry contains two seeds, commonly called coffee-beans or coffee-nibs. When ripe the berries are gathered, and the outer pulp and the parchment-like covering of the seeds arc removed. The Mocha coffee from Yemen in Arabia is reputed the best; but the principal supplies are now obtained from Ceylon, Java, the WestIndies, Brazil, and Central America. The Liberian coffee-tree, C. Liberica, of western tropical Africa, has recently been introduced into cultivation. It grows to a greater size and yields a much larger berry than C. Arabica, and thrives in low damp regions where the latter will not flourish. What is known as the male coffee-berry is simply a result of the occasional coalescence of the two seeds of the fruit into one, and differs in no other respect from the ordinary berry. The name cherry-coffee is given to the coffee-berry as it comes from the tree, before the pulp has been removed or the seeds have been dried.
2. n. A drink made from the seeds of the coffee-tree, by infusion or decoction. Before being used the seeds are roasted, and then ground in a coffee-mill, or, as in the East, pounded. The beverage is best when made with coffee-beans freshly roasted and ground. Coffee acts as a slight stimulant, promoting cheerfulness and removing languor; but in some cases it induces sleeplessness and nervous tremblings. The use of it originated in Abyssinia, passed to Arabia several centuries later, and is said to have been made known in Europe by A. Rauwolf, a German physician, whose travels appeared in 1573.
3. n. A light meal resembling afternoon tea, at which coffee is served.
4. n. The last course of a dinner, consisting of black coffee.

Wiktionary

1. n. A beverage made by infusing the beans of the coffee plant in hot water.
2. n. The seeds of the plant used to make coffee, misnamed ‘beans’ due to their shape.
3. n. A tropical plant of the genus Coffea.
4. n. this sense) A pale brown colour, like that of milk coffee.
5. n. The end of the meal—where coffee is usually served.
6. adj. Of a pale brown colour, like that of milk coffee.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The “beans” or “berries” (pyrenes) obtained from the drupes of a small evergreen tree of the genus Coffea, growing in Abyssinia, Arabia, Persia, and other warm regions of Asia and Africa, and also in tropical America.
2. n. The coffee tree.
3. n. The beverage made by decoction of the roasted and ground berry of the coffee tree.
4. n. a cup of coffee{3}, especially one served in a restaurant.
5. n. a social gathering at which coffee is served, with optional other foods or refreshments.
6. n. a color ranging from medium brown to dark brown.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any of several small trees and shrubs native to the tropical Old World yielding coffee beans
2. n. a beverage consisting of an infusion of ground coffee beans
3. n. a medium brown to dark-brown color
4. n. a seed of the coffee tree; ground to make coffee