naranja (Spanish)

Where does "naranja" come from?

The Spanish word 'naranja' has a long journey across multiple languages and regions[1]. It traces back to the Sanskrit word 'nāraṅga', meaning 'orange tree'[1]. This term was borrowed into Classical Persian as 'نَارَنْگ'[1], and subsequently into Arabic as 'نَارَنْج'[1]. The word then passed into Old Spanish as 'naranja'[1], eventually leading to the modern Spanish 'naranja'[1].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the term may lie in a Proto-Austroasiatic root, though this is marked as uncertain. [1] [2] [3]

Full etymology tree

• naranja (Spanish), 'orange (having orange color)'
  • inherited naranja (Old Spanish), 'orange (having orange color)'
    • borrowed نارنج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
      • borrowed نَارَنْگ (nārang) (Classical Persian)
        • borrowed नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) (Sanskrit), 'the orange tree'

Ancestors

• naranja (Old Spanish)
• نارنگ (Persian)
• नारङ्ग (Sanskrit)

Cognates and doublets

• taronja (Catalan)
• laranja (Portuguese)

Sources

1. naranja (Spanish) - Wiktionary
2. naranja (Old Spanish) - Wiktionary
3. नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) (Sanskrit) - Wiktionary
4. نارنگ (Persian) - Wiktionary
5. ŋaːm (Proto-Austroasiatic) - Wiktionary
6. نارنج (nāranj) (Arabic) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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