the good news is that you don't need to know any of this in order to enjoy your cappuccino while you're in Italy, but it's a fun factoid to pull out at parties-especially the ones where you're showing off the photos from your trip through Italy!
the word "cappuccio" means "hood" in Italian, and the "-ino" ending makes it what's called the "diminutive."
In other words, instead of just meaning "hood," "cappuccino" means "little hood."
It's because of the hoods worn by a particular order of Feanciscan monks which was founded in the early 16th century that they were given this moniker - Capuchin monks, or "Cappuccini" in Italian