wasabi

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

Wasabi’s story begins in Japanese: wasabi meant “the wasabi plant.” A pungent green root used as a condiment, related to horseradish. It reached English by 1900s as wasabi. True wasabi grows in cold mountain streams; most 'wasabi' abroad is dyed horseradish. Today, wasabi means a pungent green Japanese condiment made from a root related to horseradish.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · medieval wasabi "the wasabi plant", a pungent green root used as a condiment, related to horseradish.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1900s wasabi "a pungent green condiment made from the wasabi root", true wasabi grows in cold mountain streams; most 'wasabi' abroad is dyed horseradish.