昨日の日記で何でCoffeeのことをJoeというか疑問に思っていると書きましたが、やっと語源のヒントになるサイトを見つけました。
まずは、Dictionary.comで調べたらBrewed
coffeeと出て、下のような解説ついてました。↓
[Short for (old black) joe, military slang for
coffee, from the title of a song by Stephen Foster.]
さっそく上記の文章からキーワードを拾ってGoogleで検索してみたら出てました。
↓そのままＨＰから抜粋します。
Hey,
Joe, where ya goin'
with that latte in your hand?
Dear Word
Detective: I have been trying to find the origin of the term "joe" in reference
to coffee. "A cup of joe" sounds American and/or military in origin, but I can't
seem to find anything definitive. Any help you could provide would be
appreciated. -- Michael Combs, via the internet.
Call me a hopeless
romantic who watches too many old movies, but I've always wanted to duck out of
a torrential downpour into a small diner in a bad part of town, hoist myself up
on a stool, slap a quarter on the counter and growl, "Cuppa Joe, Louie, and make
it strong and black." I'm planning to try this someday, as soon as I find a
trenchcoat that fits. I just hope Louie doesn't ask me "Regular or decaf?" That
would ruin the whole thing.
Meanwhile, back at your question, there is,
alas, no definitive answer to the riddle of "joe" as slang for coffee, which
first appeared around 1930. It may be a variant of "java," also a popular term
for coffee since the 19th century, when the island of Java in Indonesia was a
major source of the world's coffee. Another theory holds that "joe" comes from
the title of the once very popular Stephen Foster song "Old Black Joe."
Yet another theory, and one that rings true to me, is that "joe" as
slang for coffee might be derived from "Joe" as a synonym for "the common
man," as in "regular joe." This use of "Joe" as a generic name for the man in
the street dates back to around 1911 and was very widespread in the military
services, as in "G.I Joe," which was slang for the common soldier long before it
became the name of a toy. Since "joe" as slang for coffee was and is especially
common in the Navy, and since the Navy pretty much runs on coffee, it seems
logical that the military slang term for an average guy could have been extended
to the average guy's usual beverage.
One thing's for sure, though --
these days, Louie's going to want more than a quarter for that "cuppa joe."
http://www.word-detective.com/041899.html
結論は、はっきりとはわからないということです。
Java（米俗語コーヒー）から変形したのか、叉はＪｏｅは『普通の人』という意味があるので、普通の人が飲む飲み物までがそう呼ばれたのではないかという節。それと最初に書いたOld
back
Joeという歌からという節。
【今日の英語学習】
①フレンズの英語音声をＭＤで聴いた
②ペーパーバックリーディング
|
|
