argan

Where does the word "argan" come from? It comes from Berber argan, passing through French before entering English (2000s).

Argan’s story begins in Berber: argan meant “the argan tree.” Named by Shilha-speaking Berbers in the tree's native southwestern Morocco. By 1900s, the word had taken hold in French as argan. Popularized internationally through French Morocco's trade and cosmetics industry. It reached English by 2000s as argan. Entered global beauty and cooking vocabulary as argan oil products spread worldwide. Today, argan means argan oil, pressed from the kernels of the Moroccan argan tree, used in cooking and cosmetics.

1. Stage 1 · Berber · medieval argan "the argan tree", named by Shilha-speaking Berbers in the tree's native southwestern Morocco.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1900s argan "the argan tree and its oil", popularized internationally through French Morocco's trade and cosmetics industry.
3. Stage 3 · English · 2000s argan "a prized Moroccan oil pressed from argan tree kernels", entered global beauty and cooking vocabulary as argan oil products spread worldwide.