teriyaki

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

Teriyaki’s story begins in Japanese: teri + yaki meant “grilled with a shiny glaze.” Combining "teri" (shine, referring to the glaze) and "yaki" (to grill). It reached English by 1900s as teriyaki. Japanese 'glossy grill'; Japanese immigrants in Hawaii popularized it in the US. Today, teriyaki means a Japanese cooking technique in which food is glazed with a sweet soy sauce.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval teri + yaki "grilled with a shiny glaze", combining "teri" (shine, referring to the glaze) and "yaki" (to grill).
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s teriyaki "food grilled or broiled in a soy-based glaze", Japanese 'glossy grill'; Japanese immigrants in Hawaii popularized it in the US.