kapok

Where does the word "kapok" come from? It comes from Malay kapuk, and was adopted directly into English (1750s).

Kapok’s story begins in Malay: kapuk meant “silk-cotton tree fibre.” The silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) is native to tropical America and West Africa but was widely planted on Java, which by the early 1900s supplied most of the world's kapok. It reached English by 1750s as kapok. Light, buoyant and water-repellent, it stuffed mattresses and filled the life jackets issued in World War II. Today, kapok means a fine fluffy fibre from the silk-cotton tree, used as stuffing.

1. Stage 1 · Malay · 1600s kapuk "silk-cotton tree fibre", the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra) is native to tropical America and West Africa but was widely planted on Java, which by the early 1900s supplied most of the world's kapok.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1750s kapok "fluffy seed fibre", light, buoyant and water-repellent, it stuffed mattresses and filled the life jackets issued in World War II.