papaya

Where does the word "papaya" come from? It comes from Arawakan papaya, passing through Spanish before entering English (1600s).

Papaya’s story begins in Arawakan: papaya meant “papaya fruit.” The native name for the tropical fruit. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in Spanish as papaya. Adopted after contact with the Caribbean and South America. It reached English by 1600s as papaya. Spanish chroniclers such as Oviedo described the fruit in the Caribbean in the 1520s. Today, papaya means a large, sweet tropical fruit with orange flesh and black seeds.

1. Stage 1 · Arawakan · pre-1500s papaya "papaya fruit", the native name for the tropical fruit.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish · 1500s papaya "papaya fruit", adopted after contact with the Caribbean and South America.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1600s papaya "the tropical papaya fruit", Spanish chroniclers such as Oviedo described the fruit in the Caribbean in the 1520s.