Java

American  

[jah-vuh, jav-uh] / ˈdʒɑ və, ˈdʒæv ə /

noun

1. the main island of Indonesia. 51,032 sq. mi. (132,173 sq. km).

2. (usually lowercase) coffee.

   a cup of java.

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Trademark.

1. Digital Technology. a brand name for a high-level, object-oriented programming language used primarily to build web-based applications.

Java ¹ British  

/ ˈdʒɑːvə /

noun

1. Former spelling: Djawa.  an island of Indonesia, south of Borneo, from which it is separated by the Java Sea : politically the most important island of Indonesia; it consists chiefly of active volcanic mountains and is densely forested. It came under Dutch control in 1596 and became part of Indonesia in 1949. It is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Capital: Jakarta. Pop (with Madura): 121 352 608 (2000 est). Area: 132 174 sq km (51 032 sq miles)

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Java ² British  

/ ˈdʒɑːvə /

noun

1. a programming language especially applicable to the Internet

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Java Cultural  

1. Island in Indonesia, south of Borneo.

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Discover More

Java is one of the world's most densely populated regions.

It was under Dutch rule from 1619 to 1949.

Etymology

Origin of Java

1550–60; of obscure origin; possibly from Sanskrit yāvadvīpa, yāvaka dvīpa “barley island” (the island was well known for the barley plant)

Explanation

Java is an informal word for "coffee," so the next time you go out for breakfast, you can jauntily order a cup of java. In North America, java has been slang for "coffee" since about 1850. Java is a coffee-producing region of what was then the Dutch East Indies and is now Indonesia, and while the term originally referred to coffee grown in Java, by the 20th century it was shorthand for any coffee. If you use this word these days, you're just as likely to be talking about the computer programming language called Java.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Java

Satrio Wiratama was born in November last year in Taman Safari Indonesia, a zoo in Cisarua, West Java, to a pair of pandas loaned by China to Indonesia.

From Barron's ● May 15, 2026

He proved them wrong later that day, fleeing Pati for the cities of Bogor, Jakarta and Solo before being caught by police on the night of 6 May at a mosque in Wonogiri, Central Java.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Hundreds of people descended on a girls' boarding school in the Indonesian village of Tlogosari, Central Java on 2 May, shouting chants and waving banners.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

However, small UK family yacht building business Jeremy Rogers is sticking with teak for now – sourced from older government-managed plantations in Java that it is confident are authentic and harvested sustainably.

From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2026

The Java Village’s novelty thrilled me at first, but the entire setup began to feel shallow the longer we sat there.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• caffeine
• cappuccino
• espresso