babouche

Where does the word "babouche" come from? It comes from Persian paposh, passing through Arabic and French before entering English (1690s).

Babouche’s story begins in Persian: paposh meant “foot covering, slipper.” Compound of pa, "foot," and posh, "covering". By medieval, the word had taken hold in Arabic as babush. Adapted the Persian word, since Arabic lacks the sound "p". From there it passed into French as babouche by 1690s. From Persian 'pa', foot, plus 'push', covering. It reached English by 1690s as babouche. First recorded in 1695 in a translation by Peter Motteux, a French Huguenot refugee in London. Today, babouche means a soft, heelless slipper of Middle Eastern or North African origin.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · medieval paposh "foot covering, slipper", compound of pa, "foot," and posh, "covering".
2. Stage 2 · Arabic · medieval babush "slipper", adapted the Persian word, since Arabic lacks the sound "p".
3. Stage 3 · French · 1690s babouche "heelless slipper", from Persian 'pa', foot, plus 'push', covering.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1690s babouche "soft heelless slipper", first recorded in 1695 in a translation by Peter Motteux, a French Huguenot refugee in London.