mocha
/ˈmoʊkə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.98 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, many European species having dark brown coloration.
Countable; Uncountable
adj
Of a dark brown colour, like that of mocha coffee.
Example Sentences
Etymology
From Mocha, Yemen, a port on the Red Sea, from Arabic اَلْمُخَا (al-muḵā), for its role as a major marketplace for coffee during Ottoman rule. The beans often had a chocolaty flavor, hence by extension came to refer to any coffee with a chocolate flavor, or any mixture of coffee and chocolate flavors, notably coffee with chocolate syrup added.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: اَلْمُخَا
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmoʊkə/
- British English: /ˈmɒkə/