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Today it means

caraway

an aromatic seed used as a spice in cooking and baking

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Where does the word "caraway" come from? It comes from Arabic al-karawiya, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

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Where does the word "caraway" come from? It comes from Arabic al-karawiya, and was adopted directly into English (1300s).

Caraway’s story begins in Arabic: al-karawiya meant “the caraway seed.” The name for the aromatic seed used as a spice. It reached English by 1300s as caraway. Settled as the word for the aromatic seed used in baking. Today, caraway means an aromatic seed used as a spice in cooking and baking.

  1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval al-karawiya "the caraway seed", the name for the aromatic seed used as a spice.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1300s caraway "an aromatic seed used as a spice", settled as the word for the aromatic seed used in baking.

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