Back to all words

Tussore

3 stages from Sanskrit to English.

Today it means A coarse, naturally tan-colored silk produced by certain wild silkworms.

Where does the word "tussore" come from? It comes from Sanskrit tasara, passing through Hindi before entering English (1600s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
tasara
Sanskrit · ancient
"a weaving shuttle"
named the weaver's shuttle
2
Stage 2 of 3
tasar
Hindi · medieval
"wild silk"
shifted to mean the wild silk woven with such shuttles
3
Stage 3 of 3
tussore
English · 1600s
"a coarse, natural-colored silk from wild silkworms"
British traders adopted the word for the coarse Indian wild silk
Drag to pan · scroll to zoom