Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·800s
Silk
from 絲 (sī)
- Meaning
- A fine soft fibre produced by the silkworm.
- Source word
- 絲 (sī)
- Route into English
- Chinese *sī* → Greek *sērikón* (of the Seres, the silk people) → Latin *sericum* → Old English *sioloc* → modern English *silk*. The direct path through Greek preserved an -l- from an earlier Silk Road variant.
- Arrived
- 800s
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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