sesame

Where does the word "sesame" come from? It comes from Akkadian shamash-shammu, passing through Greek, Latin and Old French before entering English (1400s).

Sesame’s story begins in Akkadian: shamash-shammu meant “oil-seed.” Assyrian/Babylonian term literally meaning "oil-seed"; a very early borrowing reached Greek via Phoenician traders (Arabic simsim is a related Semitic cognate, not a direct ancestor). By ancient, the word had taken hold in Greek as sesamon. Akkadian 'shamashshammu', oil plant; sesame was one of the first oilseed crops. From there it passed into Latin as sesamum by ancient. 'open sesame' comes from the tale of Ali Baba in the 'Thousand and One Nights'. Old French picked it up next, as sisamin, around medieval. From Medieval Latin sisaminum. It reached English by 1400s as sesame. Settled as the English word for the oil-rich seed. Today, sesame means a small edible seed used in cooking, famous from the phrase open sesame.

1. Stage 1 · Akkadian · ancient shamash-shammu "oil-seed", Assyrian/Babylonian term literally meaning "oil-seed"; a very early borrowing reached Greek via Phoenician traders (Arabic simsim is a related Semitic cognate, not a direct ancestor).
2. Stage 2 · Greek · ancient sesamon "the sesame seed", Akkadian 'shamashshammu', oil plant; sesame was one of the first oilseed crops.
3. Stage 3 · Latin · ancient sesamum "the sesame seed", 'open sesame' comes from the tale of Ali Baba in the 'Thousand and One Nights'.
4. Stage 4 · Old French · medieval sisamin "the sesame seed", from Medieval Latin sisaminum.
5. Stage 5 · English · 1400s sesame "a small oil-rich edible seed", settled as the English word for the oil-rich seed.