jacaranda

Where does the word "jacaranda" come from? It comes from Tupi-Guarani yakarandá, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1750s).

Jacaranda’s story begins in Tupi-Guarani: yakarandá meant “a flowering tree.” Named the flowering tree with fragrant purple blossoms. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as jacarandá. Its purple-flowering trees line streets in Pretoria, nicknamed 'Jacaranda City'. It reached English by 1750s as jacaranda. Borrowed into English botanical literature. Today, jacaranda means a tropical tree admired for its clusters of vivid purple, trumpet-shaped flowers.

1. Stage 1 · Tupi-Guarani · pre-1500s yakarandá "a flowering tree", named the flowering tree with fragrant purple blossoms.
2. Stage 2 · Portuguese · 1600s jacarandá "a flowering tropical tree", its purple-flowering trees line streets in Pretoria, nicknamed 'Jacaranda City'.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1750s jacaranda "a tropical tree known for its vivid purple flowers", borrowed into English botanical literature.