spice

Where does the word "spice" come from? It comes from Latin species, passing through Old French before entering English (1200s).

Spice’s story begins in Latin: species meant “a kind, a sort of goods.” A kind, a sort, later specifically goods of a particular kind traded for flavoring. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as espice. Narrowed in French to mean an aromatic substance used to flavor food. It reached English by 1200s as spice. Settled as the English word for an aromatic plant substance used in cooking. Today, spice means an aromatic or pungent plant substance used to flavor food.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient species "a kind, a sort of goods", a kind, a sort, later specifically goods of a particular kind traded for flavoring.
2. Stage 2 · Old French · medieval espice "an aromatic flavoring substance", narrowed in French to mean an aromatic substance used to flavor food.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1200s spice "an aromatic plant substance used to flavor food", settled as the English word for an aromatic plant substance used in cooking.