jaggery

Where does the word "jaggery" come from? It comes from Sanskrit sharkara, passing through Tamil and Portuguese before entering English (1690s).

Jaggery’s story begins in Sanskrit: sharkara meant “sugar, gravel.” Meant 'gravel, sugar', naming crystallized sugar. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Tamil as cakkarai. South Indian term for unrefined palm or cane sugar. From there it passed into Portuguese as jagara by 16th c.. Portuguese traders in India picked up the South Indian word. It reached English by 1690s as jaggery. Entered English via Indo-Portuguese trade. Today, jaggery means a coarse, dark sugar made by boiling down palm sap or sugarcane juice.

1. Stage 1 · Sanskrit · ancient sharkara "sugar, gravel", meant 'gravel, sugar', naming crystallized sugar.
2. Stage 2 · Tamil · medieval cakkarai "unrefined sugar", South Indian term for unrefined palm or cane sugar.
3. Stage 3 · Portuguese · 16th c. jagara "unrefined palm sugar", Portuguese traders in India picked up the South Indian word.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1690s jaggery "coarse, dark sugar made from palm sap or sugarcane", entered English via Indo-Portuguese trade.