Animals, plants & weatherTrade, money & letters

bamboo

Portuguese and Dutch traders in Asia picked up a word like Malay bambu for the giant grass, and English took it from Dutch bamboes in the 1590s; where the Malay word itself came from is debated.

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The road to English

From Portuguese to Spanish

From Dutch to German, Polish

From Dutch to Russian, Modern Hebrew

From Portuguese to French

From Portuguese to Italian

From Dutch to New Latin

1500Malay

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

From Dutch to Russian, Modern Hebrew

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