A Wanderwort or wanderword is a wordform which has spread over a substantial area, or to many regions, outside of that of its language of origin, typically due to cultural exchange resulting from travel and trade. This appendix lists English Wanderwörter with short etymologies.
Original word | Meaning | English cognates | Other cognates |
---|---|---|---|
Proto-Dravidian *cinki-wēr | ginger | Ancient Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis) Latin zingiberi, gingiber Prakrit 𑀲𑀺𑀁𑀕𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭 (siṃgivera) | |
Sanskrit शर्करा (śárkarā) | ground or candied sugar | jaggery, sugar | Arabic سُكَّر (sukkar, “sugar”) Hindi शक्कर (śakkar, “sugar”) Persian شکر (šakar, “sugar”) Malayalam ചക്കര (cakkara, “jaggery”) Urdu شکر (śakar, “sugar”) |