Arabic exportsAnimals, plants & weather

jasmine

Persian yāsaman, the sweet-scented jasmine, went into Arabic as yāsamīn and from Arabic into the languages of Spain, Italy and France, and from French into English; Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Russian and Linnaeus's botanical Latin all kept the Persian sound, and Yasemin and Jasmine are still favourite girls' names.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Arabic to Old Spanish, Spanish

From Arabic to Portuguese

From Arabic to Italian

From Persian to Ottoman Turkish, Turkish

From Ottoman Turkish to Modern Greek

From Arabic to Modern Hebrew

From Middle French to French, German

From French to Russian

From French to Dutch

From French to New Latin

From English to Japanese

500 CEMiddle Persian

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

jasmine

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

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