Etymology Map
Back to all words

Jalebi

4 stages from Arabic to English.

Today it means a South Asian sweet of fried batter spirals soaked in syrup

Where does the word "jalebi" come from? It comes from Arabic zalābiya, passing through Persian and Hindi before entering English (1900s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
zalābiya
Arabic · medieval
"fried sweet"
described in al-Baghdadi's cookbook of 1226
2
Stage 2 of 4
zulbiya
Persian · medieval
"syrup fritter"
a fritter soaked in syrup, still made for Ramadan in Iran
3
Stage 3 of 4
jalebī
Hindi · 1400s
"syrup spiral"
spread through India with Persian cooking
4
Stage 4 of 4
jalebi
English · 1900s
"syrup-soaked spiral"
borrowed with Indian sweets
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Read the full story

Jalebi’s story begins in Arabic: zalābiya meant “fried sweet.” Described in al-Baghdadi's cookbook of 1226. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Persian as zulbiya. A fritter soaked in syrup, still made for Ramadan in Iran. From there it passed into Hindi as jalebī by 1400s. Spread through India with Persian cooking. It reached English by 1900s as jalebi. Borrowed with Indian sweets. Today, jalebi means a South Asian sweet of fried batter spirals soaked in syrup.