kilim

Where does the word "kilim" come from? It comes from Persian gilim, passing through Ottoman Turkish before entering English (1800s).

Kilim’s story begins in Persian: gilim meant “a coarse-woven blanket.” A coarse-woven blanket or rug. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Ottoman Turkish as kilim. A flat, tapestry-woven rug or carpet, traditional across Central Asia and the Middle East. It reached English by 1800s as kilim. Flat-woven rugs from Anatolia and Persia, collected by Victorian travellers. Today, kilim means a flat, tapestry-woven rug or carpet, traditional to Central Asia and the Middle East.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · medieval gilim "a coarse-woven blanket", a coarse-woven blanket or rug.
2. Stage 2 · Ottoman Turkish · medieval kilim "a flat-woven rug", a flat, tapestry-woven rug or carpet, traditional across Central Asia and the Middle East.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s kilim "a flat, tapestry-woven rug", flat-woven rugs from Anatolia and Persia, collected by Victorian travellers.