jaggery (English)

Where does "jaggery" come from?

The English word 'jaggery' was borrowed from Indo-Portuguese 'jágara' or 'jagra'[1]. The Portuguese term was adopted from a Dravidian language, specifically Malayalam 'cakkara' or Tamil 'cakkarai'[1][5]. These forms trace back to Sanskrit 'śarkarā', meaning 'candied or ground sugar' as well as 'grit, gravel, shingle' or 'pebble'[1][2]. Ultimately, the Sanskrit word derives from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction '*ḱorkeh₂', which referred to a 'boulder' or 'gravel'[1][2], making 'jaggery' an etymological doublet of 'sugar'.

Open questions

• It is uncertain whether Indo-Portuguese borrowed the term directly from Malayalam or from Tamil. [1] [5]
• The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root '*ḱorkeh₂' is a modern linguistic reconstruction rather than an attested historical form. [1] [2]

Full etymology tree

• jaggery (English), 'A traditional dark-brown unrefined sugar made from palm tree sap which is used throughout South and Southeast Asia; (by extension) other types of unrefined sugar.'
  • borrowed jágara (Indo-Portuguese)
    • derived ചക്കര (cakkara) (Malayalam), 'palm sugar; jaggery'
      • borrowed शर्करा (śarkarā) (Sanskrit), 'gravel, grit, pebbles, shingle, gravelly mould or soil (mostly plural)'
        • derived शर्कर (śárkara) (Sanskrit), 'pebble, small stone'
          • inherited *śárkaraH (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
            • inherited *ćárkaraH (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
              • inherited *ḱorkeh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'pebble, gravel, small stone'
    • derived சக்கரை (cakkarai) (Tamil), 'alternative form of சர்க்கரை (carkkarai, “sugar”).'
      • borrowed शर्करा (śarkarā) (Sanskrit), 'gravel, grit, pebbles, shingle, gravelly mould or soil (mostly plural)'
        • derived शर्कर (śárkara) (Sanskrit), 'pebble, small stone'
          • inherited *śárkaraH (Proto-Indo-Aryan)
            • inherited *ćárkaraH (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
              • inherited *ḱorkeh₂ (Proto-Indo-European), 'pebble, gravel, small stone'

Ancestors

• ചക്കര (Malayalam)
• சக்கரை (Tamil)
• शर्करा (Sanskrit)
• *ḱorkeh₂ (Proto-Indo-European)

Cognates and doublets

• sugar (English)

Sources

1. jaggery (English) - Wiktionary
2. शर्करा (śarkarā) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
3. ചക്കര (cakkara) (Malayalam) - Wiktionary
4. शर्कर (śárkara) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
5. jágara (Portuguese) - Wiktionary

Updated September 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris