zarf

American  

[zahrf] / zɑrf /

noun

1. (in the Levant) a holder, usually of ornamental metal, for a coffee cup without a handle.

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zarf British  

/ zɑːf /

noun

1. (esp in the Middle East) a holder, usually ornamental, for a hot coffee cup

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Usage

What is a zarf? Zarf is an informal term for a sleeve, usually made of cardboard, to put on a hot paper cup, like you might get in a coffee shop. The zarf keeps you from burning your hand on the hot cup. Originally a Levant term, a zarf is traditionally an ornamental metal holder for a coffee cup that doesn’t have a handle. Because coffee drinking became highly ritualized in the Mediterranean area, many zarf were decorated or designed very ornately and would often be expensive items only the rich could afford. Example: The coffee shop didn’t give me a zarf this morning, and I really burnt my hands on the way to the car.

Etymology

Origin of zarf

First recorded in 1830–40, zarf is from the Arabic word ẓarf vessel, sheath

Explanation

A zarf is something that helps you hold a hot cup without burning your fingers. Don't leave the coffee shop without your zarf! Zarf is a peculiar looking word that is a loaner from Arabic and originally denoted a metal holder for a drinking glass — which would be unwieldy to handle if it contained a hot beverage. Now in the latte age, zarf is extended to denote any such cup-holding appliance, like the collapsible cardboard ones you get for paper cups to hold your skinny double mochachino.

Example Sentences

Fun fact: that little cardboard thing one slips around a cup of coffee to keep it from burning one’s hand is known as a zarf.

From Time • Jun. 24, 2015

The Pasha, lifting his little cup by its silver zarf, realized that he would not sip his coffee quite so noisily had his French wife been sitting with him under the horse-chestnuts.

From Atlantic Narratives Modern Short Stories by Ashe, Elizabeth