Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Arabic ·1200s
Sugar
from sukkar
- Meaning
- Crystalline sweetener, itself borrowed from Sanskrit *śarkarā*.
- Source word
- sukkar
- Route into English
- Arabic merchants carried sugar and the word across the Mediterranean; entered English via Old French *sucre*.
- Arrived
- 1200s
From Arabic
Science, trade, and the Mediterranean transit of Andalusian scholarship gave English its Arabic stratum — especially in maths, chemistry, and commerce. Many entered through Latin or Italian.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.