Where does “banyan” come from?
Banyan derives from Portuguese baniano, from Arabic bāniyān, originally denoting a merchant or trader in Indian commerce.
banyan (English): An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money...
Definitions
- An Indian trader, merchant, cashier, or money...
Ancestry of “banyan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Portuguese | baniano | banyan |
| 2 | Arabic | بَنِيَان | — |
| 3 | Gujarati | વાણિયો | merchant |
| 4 | Sanskrit | वाणिज | merchant, trader; the submarine fire |
| 5 | Sanskrit | वणिज् | a merchant, trader; the zodiacal sign Libra; name... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂eǵ- | to drive |