EtymologyMap
Back to all words

Trace the journey of words

Today it means

chapati

a thin, round, unleavened flatbread from South Asia, cooked on a griddle

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate

Where does the word "chapati" come from? It comes from Sanskrit/Hindi capat, and was adopted directly into English (1810s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "chapati" come from? It comes from Sanskrit/Hindi capat, and was adopted directly into English (1810s).

Chapati’s story begins in Sanskrit/Hindi: capat meant “flat.” Flat, describing an unleavened round flatbread cooked on a griddle. It reached English by 1810s as chapati. Cooked on a flat iron 'tava' griddle; East African Indian communities spread it to Kenya and Uganda. Today, chapati means a thin, round, unleavened flatbread from South Asia, cooked on a griddle.

  1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit/Hindi · medieval capat "flat", flat, describing an unleavened round flatbread cooked on a griddle.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1810s chapati "an unleavened South Asian flatbread", cooked on a flat iron 'tava' griddle; East African Indian communities spread it to Kenya and Uganda.

Browse by origin