可口可乐
可口可乐（Coca-Cola）是全球最常见的饮料之一，在口语中常简称Coke。但在一些非英语国家【比如阿尔及利亚和阿联酋】，我也碰到很多人称其为Cola。那么哪一个比较靠谱呢？
先来看看Cola的含义。一般英文词典上的解释有如下几种：
1. A carbonated soft drink containing an extract of the cola nut and other flavorings, also regionally called dope【注意：一种可乐果饮料，并非指可口可乐或百事可乐】.
2. Plural of colon【冒号的复数形式】.
3. Plural of colon【结肠的复数形式】.
4. Cola【或Kola】：Either of two tropical African evergreen plants (Cola acuminata or C. nitida) having reddish fragrant nutlike seeds yielding an extract that contains caffeine and theobromine and is used in carbonated beverages and pharmaceuticals【一种植物】.
从这里我们没有看到“可口可乐”的义项。但词典上Coke的含义则为：
1. A trademark used for a soft drink, short for Coca-Cola【可口可乐】.
2. English jurist who as chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas (1606-1616) ruled that the common law is supreme law, even when the Crown disagrees【人名】.
3. The solid residue of impure carbon obtained from bituminous coal and other carbonaceous materials after removal of volatile material by destructive distillation. It is used as a fuel and in making steel【焦炭】.
4. Cocaine【可卡因；1903年之前的可口可乐包含可卡因成分】.
5. In the South any soft drink, regardless of flavor or brand name, is referred to as a Coke, cold drink, or just plain drink【泛指软饮料】.
可见Coke第一个常用含义就是“可口可乐”。这与可口可乐公司同时拥有“Coke”注册商标也有关。另外在美国局部地区它还可以指任何碳酸饮料【其它地区用pop、tonic或soda】。
总之，口语中Coke比Cola更常用也更标准。非正规说法中，Coke和Cola几乎可以通用，包括在泛指饮料、可口可乐、毒品等几个义项上。但鉴于百事可乐（Pepsi-Cola）也带有“Cola”字样，所以这个说法不够明确。
