Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “sumac” come from?

Sumac comes from Middle English simak, from Anglo-Norman sumak, with origins ultimately traced to Semitic languages where the word referred to the plant used for tanning and dyeing.

sumac (English): Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus...

Definitions

  1. Any of various shrubs or small trees of the genus...

Ancestry of “sumac”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishsumac—
2Anglo-Normansumak—
3Medieval Latinsumach—
4Arabicسُمَّاقsumac
5Classical Syriacܣܘܡܩܐred, reddish, ruddy; red; sumac

Words derived from “sumac”

  • sumacade
  • sumach
Every word from Classical Syriac ܣܘܡܩܐ →