Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small cup of strong black coffee or espresso.
  • noun The small cup used to serve this drink.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small cup of strong black coffee.
  • noun The cup in which this coffee is served.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French demi-tasse : demi-, demi- + tasse, cup (from Old French, from Arabic ṭašt, basin, from Persian tašt, from Middle Persian; akin to Avestan tašta-, cup, bowl).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French demi-tasse, from demi, half + tasse, cup

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word demitasse.

Examples

  • Pour in demitasse cups, giving each a topping of foama clear indicator of an accomplished coffee maker.

    Crescent by Diana Abu-Jaber: Questions 2003

  • One of the first lots of blue glassware included a couple small glasses, which the auctioneer described as "demitasse", and his father called "shot glasses".

    grouse Diary Entry grouse 2009

  • Slide 27: Variety • Bialetti models • Sizes (in "demitasse" cups) •

    Recently Uploaded Slideshows 2008

  • We finished off with a small but very strong demitasse cup of Arabic-style (Turkish) coffee flavored with cloves.

    NJ Dining: Al-Safa (Bab Al-hara) 2009

  • The little duchess tossed a tiny silver spoon at him and he stopped whimpering, but Howell bit right into the lip of his demitasse cup.

    Lorelei 2010

  • A tiny butternut-shaped woman was hired to channel an endless flow of coffee and tea into demitasse cups that she continually distributed on trays.

    Day of Honey Annia Ciezadlo 2011

  • Fifty year ago in my Wasp family a canard was a children's treat, a lump of sugar dipped in an after dinner demitasse.

    canard - French Word-A-Day 2009

  • Even a demitasse of chicory coffee must have been hard to come by in Seneca, South Carolina in the last world war.

    Elizabeth Boleman-Herring: Selling Mother's Louis Vuittons on eBay Elizabeth Boleman-Herring 2011

  • Forget about Flora Danica china unless you have 1500 Euros for a demitasse!

    Terry Kelhawk: It's Different in Denmark Terry Kelhawk 2011

  • Forget about Flora Danica china unless you have 1500 Euros for a demitasse!

    Terry Kelhawk: It's Different in Denmark Terry Kelhawk 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • "Harrison and Manchester were standing in the door of the department common room, drinking coffee. In their ham-sized fists, the mugs looked the size of demitasse cups."

    - 'The Dark Half', Stephen King.

    December 31, 2007

  • from Fr., lit. "half-cup," from demi- + tasse, an O.Fr. borrowing from Arabic tassah, from Pers. tasht "cup, saucer"

    August 30, 2009