برتقال (Arabic)
Where does "برتقال" come from?
The Arabic word 'burtuqal' for orange originated from the phrase 'taronja de Portugal,' meaning 'orange from Portugal,' as Portuguese sailors were responsible for introducing the fruit to Europe. This term traveled from Catalan through Italian and Ottoman Turkish before being adopted into Arabic. Interestingly, the word is a linguistic twin of 'al-burtughal,' the Arabic name for the country of Portugal itself.
Full etymology tree
- برتقال (burtuqāl) (Arabic), 'orange, oranges'
- borrowed پورتقال (portokal) (Ottoman Turkish), 'orange (fruit and tree)'
- borrowed portogallo (Italian), 'sweet orange (fruit)'
- compound taronja (Catalan), 'orange (fruit of an orange tree)'
- derived نَارَنْج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
- inherited نارنگ (nārang) (Persian), 'bitter orange'
- inherited नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) (Sanskrit), 'the orange tree'
- inherited نارنگ (nārang) (Persian), 'bitter orange'
- derived نَارَنْج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
- compound Portugal (Catalan), 'Portugal (a country in Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula)'
- inherited Portugal (Portuguese), 'Portugal (a country in Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula; official name: República Portuguesa; capital and largest city: Lisboa)'
- inherited Portus Cale (Latin)
- inherited Portugal (Portuguese), 'Portugal (a country in Southern Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula; official name: República Portuguesa; capital and largest city: Lisboa)'
- compound taronja (Catalan), 'orange (fruit of an orange tree)'
- borrowed portogallo (Italian), 'sweet orange (fruit)'
- borrowed پورتقال (portokal) (Ottoman Turkish), 'orange (fruit and tree)'
Ancestors
- پورتقال (Ottoman Turkish)
Cognates and doublets
- πορτοκάλι (Greek)
Descendants and derived words
- ብርቱካን (Amharic)
- برتقان (Egyptian Arabic)
- برتقان (North Levantine Arabic)
- بردقان (South Levantine Arabic)
Updated June 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris