1
Stage 1 of 5
laksha
Sanskrit · ancient
"red resinous dye"
literally '100,000', a reference to the vast numbers of insects that produce the resin
2
Stage 2 of 5
lakkha
Prakrit · ancient/medieval
"the resin"
the vernacular form carried the word into everyday speech
3
Stage 3 of 5
lakh
Hindi · medieval
"the scarlet resin"
settled as the everyday North Indian word for the resin
4
Stage 4 of 5
lak
Persian · medieval
"resin used in varnish and dye"
traders adopted the Hindi word for the traded commodity
5
Stage 5 of 5
lac
English · 1600s
"a resinous secretion used for varnish and dye"
entered English via Persian-Indian trade for the insect resin used in varnish
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom