amber

Where does the word "amber" come from? It comes from Arabic anbar, passing through Old French before entering English (medieval).

Amber’s story begins in Arabic: anbar meant “ambergris.” Originally referring to ambergris, a whale-derived substance. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as ambre. The meaning shifted to include fossilized tree resin: ambergris reached Europe through Arab Indian Ocean trade, and the name passed to Baltic resin, perhaps because both were found washed up on beaches. It reached English by medieval as amber. Settled to mean the golden fossilized resin. Today, amber means hardened, fossilized tree resin, often golden in color, or the color itself.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval anbar "ambergris", originally referring to ambergris, a whale-derived substance.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval ambre "ambergris; fossilized resin", the meaning shifted to include fossilized tree resin: ambergris reached Europe through Arab Indian Ocean trade, and the name passed to Baltic resin, perhaps because both were found washed up on beaches.
3. Stage 3 · English · medieval amber "fossilized tree resin; a golden color", settled to mean the golden fossilized resin.