mangosteen

Where does the word "mangosteen" come from? It comes from Malay manggista, and was adopted directly into English (1590s).

Mangosteen’s story begins in Malay: manggista meant “mangosteen.” A fruit tree native to the islands of Southeast Asia; the fuller Malay form manggista (now usually manggis) gave Portuguese mangostão and Dutch mangistan. It reached English by 1590s as mangosteen. A popular story says Queen Victoria offered a reward for a fresh one, but no record of it exists; fresh mangosteens were only allowed into the US from 2007. Today, mangosteen means a tropical fruit with a thick purple rind and sweet white segments.

1. Stage 1 · Malay · medieval manggista "mangosteen", a fruit tree native to the islands of Southeast Asia; the fuller Malay form manggista (now usually manggis) gave Portuguese mangostão and Dutch mangistan.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1590s mangosteen "tropical fruit", a popular story says Queen Victoria offered a reward for a fresh one, but no record of it exists; fresh mangosteens were only allowed into the US from 2007.