Word of the Day

emblic

Emblic

English

Classical Sanskrit/aː.mɐ.lɐ.kiː/Hindi descendant/ˈaːm.laː/
“An Indian fruit reached English wearing a French coat and a Latin spine.”

Emblic is an English botanical word for the Indian gooseberry and related forms, but the trail begins in South Asia. The deeper source is Sanskrit आमलकी, amalaki, attested in classical medical and lexical traditions by the early first millennium CE. Ayurveda knew the fruit well: sour, medicinal, durable, famous. Botany arrived much later and acted as if it had discovered something.

6 stops · from Varanasi to London

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