ʔo·linčas (Makah)
Where does "ʔo·linčas" come from?
The Makah word ʔo·linčas was borrowed from the English word orange, which has a long history spanning several continents. It originated in Dravidian languages as a name for the fruit and transitioned through Sanskrit and Arabic before reaching Europe via Italian and Old French. The term eventually traveled to the Pacific Northwest, where the Makah people adapted the English pronunciation into their own unique phonetic system.
Full etymology tree
- ʔo·linčas (Makah), 'orange, the fruit'
- borrowed orange (English), 'An evergreen tree of the genus Citrus such as Citrus sinensis which yields oranges (the fruit).'
- inherited orange (Middle English), 'alternative form of orenge'
- borrowed orange (Middle French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
- inherited orenge (Old French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
- calque melarancia (Italian), 'sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (fruit)'
- compound mela (Italian), 'apple (fruit)'
- inherited mēla (Late Latin)
- inherited mēlum (Latin), 'apple'
- inherited mālum (Latin), 'inflection of malus:'
- borrowed μᾶλον (mâlon) (Ancient Greek), 'Doric and Aeolic form of μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”)'
- inherited mālum (Latin), 'inflection of malus:'
- inherited mēlum (Latin), 'apple'
- inherited mēla (Late Latin)
- compound narancia (Italian)
- borrowed نَارَنْج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
- borrowed نَارَنْگْ (nārang) (Early Classical Persian)
- borrowed नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) (Sanskrit), 'the orange tree'
- borrowed نَارَنْگْ (nārang) (Early Classical Persian)
- borrowed نَارَنْج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
- compound mela (Italian), 'apple (fruit)'
- calque melarancia (Italian), 'sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (fruit)'
- inherited orenge (Old French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
- borrowed orange (Middle French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
- inherited orange (Middle English), 'alternative form of orenge'
- borrowed orange (English), 'An evergreen tree of the genus Citrus such as Citrus sinensis which yields oranges (the fruit).'
Ancestors
Descendants and derived words
- ʔo·ʔo·linčask̓uk (Makah)
Updated May 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris