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Madeira

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira

Where does the word "madeira" come from? It comes from Latin materia, passing through Portuguese before entering English (1590s).

materia→madeira→madeira

Latin · classical

"timber, material"

timber and building stuff; Vitruvius's De architectura (c. 20s BC) gives advice on felling and choosing it

Portuguese · 1419

"wood; the island of Madeira"

'wood': João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira reached the island around 1419-20 and named it for its dense forest

English · 1590s

"wine from Madeira"

the island's fortified wine; in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 (c. 1597) Poins teases Falstaff for selling his soul 'for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon's leg'

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Madeira’s story begins in Latin: materia meant “timber, material.” Timber and building stuff; Vitruvius's De architectura (c. 20s BC) gives advice on felling and choosing it. By 1419, the word had taken hold in Portuguese as madeira. 'wood': João Gonçalves Zarco and Tristão Vaz Teixeira reached the island around 1419-20 and named it for its dense forest. It reached English by 1590s as madeira. The island's fortified wine; in Shakespeare's Henry IV Part 1 (c. 1597) Poins teases Falstaff for selling his soul 'for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon's leg'. Today, madeira means a fortified wine from the Portuguese island of Madeira.