orxata

Meaning

horchata (a sweet beverage)

Concepts

orgeat

horchata

Synonyms

orxata de xufes

orxata de xufa

Translations

horchata

orgeat

horchata

orzata

Horchata de chufa

Pronounced as (IPA)

[urˈʃa.tə]

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin *hordeāta, itself derived from Latin hordeum (“barley”). How the word entered Catalan is disputed. Some see it as originating in the Valencian dialect (and making its way into Spanish (horchata) possibly via a Mozarabic source), but the word was only attested in Catalan around the 17th or 18th century, which makes this problematic. An alternative etymology has the Catalan word borrowed from the Spanish horchata, itself perhaps taken from the Italian orzata (“barley water”).