spinach (English)
Where does "spinach" come from?
The English word 'spinach' follows a long journey across languages and borders. It originates from the Classical Persian 'ispanāx'[1] or 'espanâx'[3], which evolved into the Arabic 'ʔisfānāḵ'[1][3] and 'sabāniḵ'[2]. From there, the term moved into Old Occitan as 'espinarc'[1][3] and then into Old French as 'espinoche'[1]. Following the transition through Anglo-Norman 'spinache'[1][3], the plant name finally settled into Middle English as 'spinach'[1][3]. Throughout these linguistic changes, the term consistently referred to the edible leafy green plant known today.
Open questions
- There is a slight variation in the cited Arabic and Persian source forms across the provided etymology records. [1] [2] [3]
Full etymology tree
- spinach (English), 'A particular edible plant, Spinacia oleracea, or its leaves.'
- inherited spinache (Middle English)
- borrowed spinache (Anglo-Norman)
- derived espinarc (Old Occitan)
- inherited إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ) (Arabic)
- inherited اسپناخ (ispanāx) (Persian), 'alternative form of اسفناج'
- inherited إِسْفَانَاخ (ʔisfānāḵ) (Arabic)
- derived espinarc (Old Occitan)
- borrowed spinache (Anglo-Norman)
- inherited spinache (Middle English)
Descendants and derived words
- Chinese spinach (English)
- dark spinach (English)
- Egyptian spinach (English)
- French spinach (English)
- gammon and spinach (English)
- Lincolnshire spinach (English)
- Malabar spinach (English)
- mountain spinach (English)
- New Zealand spinach (English)
- sand and spinach (English)
- sissoo spinach (English)
- spinach dip (English)
Sources
- spinach (English) - Wiktionary
- espinoche (Old French) - Wiktionary
- spinach (Middle English) - Wiktionary
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris