Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Spanish ·1840s
Alfalfa
from al-fiṣfiṣa
- Meaning
- A forage plant and legume, *Medicago sativa*.
- Source word
- al-fiṣfiṣa
- Route into English
- Arabic *al-fiṣfiṣa* → Spanish *alfalfa* → English via 19th-century American agriculture. California farmers picked up both the crop and the Spanish name from Mexican ranchers.
- Arrived
- 1840s
From Spanish
American Spanish, not peninsular Spanish, provided most of the modern loanwords — through US expansion westward and Latin American trade.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.