malachite

Where does the word "malachite" come from? It comes from Greek malache, passing through Latin and French before entering English (1590s).

Malachite’s story begins in Greek: malache meant “the mallow plant.” Mallow plant, whose leaves share the stone's green color. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as molochites. Carried into Latin for the green mineral resembling mallow leaves. From there it passed into French as malachite by medieval. Carried into French for the green copper-based mineral. It reached English by 1590s as malachite. Settled as the English word for the vivid green banded mineral. Today, malachite means a vivid green mineral, often banded, formed from copper deposits.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient malache "the mallow plant", mallow plant, whose leaves share the stone's green color.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient molochites "the green mineral", carried into Latin for the green mineral resembling mallow leaves.
3. Stage 3 · French · medieval malachite "the green mineral", carried into French for the green copper-based mineral.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1590s malachite "a vivid green, banded copper mineral", settled as the English word for the vivid green banded mineral.