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