tiara

Where does the word "tiara" come from? It comes from Persian tiara, passing through Greek and Latin before entering English (1550s).

Tiara’s story begins in Persian: tiara meant “royal Persian headdress.” A tall, peaked headdress worn by Persian kings and nobles. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Greek as tiara. Greek writers borrowed the word to describe the Persian royal crown. From there it passed into Latin as tiara by ancient. Carried into Latin unchanged. It reached English by 1550s as tiara. First used for Persian and papal crowns, later for jeweled women's headbands. Today, tiara means a jeweled ornamental band or crown worn on the head, especially by women on formal occasions.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · ancient tiara "royal Persian headdress", a tall, peaked headdress worn by Persian kings and nobles.
2. Stage 2 · Greek · ancient tiara "Persian crown", Greek writers borrowed the word to describe the Persian royal crown.
3. Stage 3 · Latin · ancient tiara "headdress, crown", carried into Latin unchanged.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1550s tiara "jeweled headpiece", first used for Persian and papal crowns, later for jeweled women's headbands.