Where does “sugar” come from?
Sugar comes from Middle English sucre, from Middle French sucre, from Old French çucre, from Latin zuccarum, from Arabic سُكَّر, ultimately from Sanskrit शर्करा meaning gravel or grit.
sugar (English): Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained...
Definitions
- Sucrose in the form of small crystals, obtained...
Ancestry of “sugar”, step by step
sugar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English sucre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sucre | Alternative form of sugre |
| 2 | Middle French | sucre | — |
| 3 | Old French | çucre | sugar |
| 4 | Arabic | سكر | sugar; to sugar, to sprinkle sugar over; to... |
| 5 | Persian | شکر | sugar |
| 6 | Middle Persian | škl | sugar |
| 7 | Sanskrit | शर्करा | gravel, grit, pebbles, shingle, gravelly mould or... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Aryan | śárkaraH | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | ćárkaraH | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorkeh₂ | gravel, boulder; boulder; gravel |
via Middle English sugre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | sugre | sugar; Nutrition, nourishment, delight,... |