Back to all words

Shisha

4 stages from Persian to English.

Today it means a water pipe used for smoking flavored tobacco, or the tobacco itself

Where does the word "shisha" come from? It comes from Persian shishe, passing through Ottoman Turkish and Egyptian Arabic before entering English (1900s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
shishe
Persian · medieval
"glass"
literally meant "glass" or "mirror"
2
Stage 2 of 4
şişe
Ottoman Turkish · medieval
"bottle"
came to mean "bottle," describing the glass base of the water pipe
3
Stage 3 of 4
shisha
Egyptian Arabic · 1800s
"water pipe"
narrowed to the water pipe's glass bowl and then the whole device
4
Stage 4 of 4
shisha
English · 1900s
"water pipe / flavored tobacco"
spread internationally with the popularity of flavored tobacco smoking
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom