shampoo (English)

Where does "shampoo" come from?

The English noun shampoo entered the language in the mid 18th century[1]. It was borrowed from the Hindi imperative form 'चाँपो' ('cā̃po'), which comes from the verb 'चाँपना' ('cā̃pnā') meaning 'to press, knead'[1]. This Hindi verb ultimately traces its roots back to Prakrit 'चंपइ' ('caṃpaï')[2].

Open questions

• The ancestry prior to the Prakrit form relies on inherited connections that are traceable further back to earlier historical stages. [2]

Full etymology tree

• shampoo (English), 'A traditional Indian and Persian body massage given after pouring warm water over the body and rubbing it with extracts from herbs.'
  • derived चाँपो (cā̃po) (Hindi), 'inflection of चाँपना (cā̃pnā):'
    • derived चाँपना (cā̃pnā) (Hindi), 'to press, to squeeze, to knead'
      • inherited चंपइ (caṃpaï) (Prakrit), 'Devanagari script form of 𑀘𑀁𑀧𑀇 (“presses”)'

Ancestors

• चाँपो (Hindi)

Descendants and derived words

• xanpu (Basque)
• xampú (Catalan)
• 香波 (Chinese)
• shampoo (Danish)
• shampoo (Dutch)
• baby shampoo (English)
• shampoo bowl (English)
• shampoo ginger (English)
• wood shampoo (English)
• šampoon (Estonian)
• sjampo (Faroese)
• sampoo (Finnish)

Sources

1. shampoo (English) - Wiktionary
2. चाँपना (cā̃pnā) (Hindi) - Wiktionary

Updated August 2026

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