tamarind

Where does the word "tamarind" come from? It comes from Arabic tamr hindi, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).

Tamarind’s story begins in Arabic: tamr hindi meant “the Indian date.” Literally the Indian date, describing the sweet-sour fruit pod. It reached English by 1500s as tamarind. Settled as the word for the tangy tropical fruit. Today, tamarind means a tropical fruit with a tangy, sweet-sour pulp used in cooking.

1. Stage 1 · Arabic · medieval tamr hindi "the Indian date", literally the Indian date, describing the sweet-sour fruit pod.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1500s tamarind "a tangy tropical fruit pod", settled as the word for the tangy tropical fruit.