porcelain

Where does the word "porcelain" come from? It comes from Italian porcellana, passing through French before entering English (1590s).

Porcelain’s story begins in Italian: porcellana meant “a cowrie shell, little pig.” Literally little pig, originally the name of a cowrie shell whose curved sheen resembled a pig's back. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as porcelaine. Transferred from the glossy shell to the glossy fine ceramic imported from China. It reached English by 1590s as porcelain. Settled as the English word for fine translucent ceramic ware. Today, porcelain means a hard, translucent ceramic material, also called china.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval porcellana "a cowrie shell, little pig", literally little pig, originally the name of a cowrie shell whose curved sheen resembled a pig's back.
2. Stage 2 · French · 1500s porcelaine "fine, glossy ceramic ware", transferred from the glossy shell to the glossy fine ceramic imported from China.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1590s porcelain "fine, translucent ceramic ware", settled as the English word for fine translucent ceramic ware.