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Where does the word "shagreen" come from? It comes from Persian saghri, passing through French before entering English (1600s-1700s).
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Where does the word "shagreen" come from? It comes from Persian saghri, passing through French before entering English (1600s-1700s).
Shagreen’s story begins in Persian: saghri meant “rough, untanned leather.” The Persian name for a granular, untanned leather. By 1500s-1600s, the word had taken hold in French as chagrin. Adopted for the distinctive rough-textured leather. It reached English by 1600s-1700s as shagreen. Settled as the English spelling for the leather. Today, shagreen means a rough, granular untanned leather, often dyed green.
- Stage 1 · Persian · medieval saghri "rough, untanned leather", the Persian name for a granular, untanned leather.
- Stage 2 · French · 1500s-1600s chagrin "granulated leather", adopted for the distinctive rough-textured leather.
- Stage 3 · English · 1600s-1700s shagreen "a rough-textured, untanned leather", settled as the English spelling for the leather.