soba

Where does the word "soba" come from? It comes from Japanese soba, and was adopted directly into English (1900s).

Soba’s story begins in Japanese: soba meant “buckwheat.” Buckwheat, the grain from which the thin noodle is made. It reached English by 1900s as soba. Eaten on New Year's Eve in Japan as 'toshikoshi soba', for long life. Today, soba means a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval soba "buckwheat", buckwheat, the grain from which the thin noodle is made.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s soba "a thin Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour", eaten on New Year's Eve in Japan as 'toshikoshi soba', for long life.