Where does “Gobi” come from?
Gobi comes from Classical Mongolian ᠭᠣᠪᠢ, which is also attested in Mongolian Говь.
Gobi (English): cauliflower
Ancestry of “Gobi”, step by step
Gobi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Hindi गोभी
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Hindi | गोभी | cabbage; cauliflower |
| 2 | Portuguese | couve | kale; cabbage; couves |
| 3 | Old Portuguese | couve | — |
| 4 | Old Portuguese | coue | — |
| 5 | Latin | caulis | dative plural of caulae; ablative plural of... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | καυλός | stem, stalk; shaft |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂ulós | — |
via Mongolian Говь
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Mongolian | Говь | semidesert |
| 2 | Classical Mongolian | ᠭᠣᠪᠢ | — |
Words derived from “Gobi”