copra

Where does the word "copra" come from? It comes from Malayalam koppara, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1600s-1700s).

Copra’s story begins in Malayalam: koppara meant “dried coconut kernel.” The dried coconut kernel. By 1500s-1600s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as copra. Malayalam 'koppara', coconut. It reached English by 1600s-1700s as copra. First recorded in 1584 in the English merchant William Barret's notes on Indian Ocean trade; copra oil became a mainstay of Pacific plantation economies in the 1800s. Today, copra means the dried kernel of the coconut, used to extract coconut oil.

1. Stage 1 · Malayalam · medieval koppara "dried coconut kernel", the dried coconut kernel.
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1500s-1600s copra "dried coconut meat", Malayalam 'koppara', coconut.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s-1700s copra "dried coconut kernel used to extract oil", first recorded in 1584 in the English merchant William Barret's notes on Indian Ocean trade; copra oil became a mainstay of Pacific plantation economies in the 1800s.