pistachio

Where does the word "pistachio" come from? It comes from Persian pistak, passing through Greek and Italian before entering English (1500s).

Pistachio’s story begins in Persian: pistak meant “pistachio nut.” The pistachio tree and its nut. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Greek as pistakion. Adapted from Persian for the same nut. From there it passed into Italian as pistacchio by medieval. Carried into Italian trade vocabulary for the nut. It reached English by 1500s as pistachio. Settled as the English word for the green nut. Today, pistachio means a small green edible nut from the pistachio tree.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · ancient pistak "pistachio nut", the pistachio tree and its nut.
2. Stage 2 · Greek · ancient pistakion "pistachio nut", adapted from Persian for the same nut.
3. Stage 3 · Italian · medieval pistacchio "pistachio nut", carried into Italian trade vocabulary for the nut.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1500s pistachio "a small green edible nut", settled as the English word for the green nut.