artichoke (English)
Where does "artichoke" come from?
The word artichoke traces its roots to the Arabic word 'al-ḵuršūf,' which may have derived from a Middle Persian term meaning 'thorn stick' due to the plant's prickly appearance. It traveled through Andalusian Arabic and Old Spanish as 'alcarchofa' before picking up influence from Occitan and Lombard dialects. It eventually arrived in English, settling into its modern form as the name for the delicious, thistle-like vegetable.
Full etymology tree
- artichoke (English), 'A plant related to the thistle with enlarged flower heads eaten as a vegetable while immature, Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus.'
- borrowed articioch (Lombard)
- borrowed artichaut (Occitan)
- borrowed alcarchofa (Old Spanish), 'artichoke'
- borrowed الْخَرْشُوف (al-ḵaršúf) (Andalusian Arabic)
- derived خُرْشُوف (ḵuršūf) (Arabic), 'artichoke'
- derived *xār-čōp (Middle Persian)
- compound خَار (xār) (Middle Persian)
- compound چوب (čōp) (Middle Persian)
- derived *xār-čōp (Middle Persian)
- derived خُرْشُوف (ḵuršūf) (Arabic), 'artichoke'
- borrowed الْخَرْشُوف (al-ḵaršúf) (Andalusian Arabic)
- borrowed alcarchofa (Old Spanish), 'artichoke'
- borrowed artichaut (Occitan)
- borrowed articioch (Lombard)
Direct ancestors
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris