Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1610s
Ginseng
from rénshēn
- Meaning
- The medicinal root *Panax ginseng*.
- Source word
- rénshēn
- Route into English
- Mandarin *rénshēn* (man-root, from its forked shape) → Hokkien *jîn-sim* → English via trade. The Hokkien pronunciation is what English inherits; the North American species *P. quinquefolius* was named after the Chinese one, not the other way round.
- Arrived
- 1610s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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