laranja (Portuguese)

Where does "laranja" come from?

The Portuguese word 'laranja' descends from Old Galician-Portuguese 'laranja'[1], which was borrowed from Arabic 'نَارَنْج'[1]. The Arabic term comes from Classical Persian 'نَارَنْگ'[1], which was borrowed from Sanskrit 'नारङ्ग', meaning 'orange tree'[1]. Sanskrit likely borrowed the term from Dravidian or derived it from Proto-Austroasiatic roots[1][3].

Open questions

• The ultimate origin of the Sanskrit term is uncertain, with competing theories suggesting a Dravidian source, a derivation from Proto-Austroasiatic, or an alternate connection to lead-oxide coloring. [1] [3]

Full etymology tree

• laranja (Portuguese), 'orange (having orange as its color)'
  • inherited laranja (Old Galician-Portuguese), 'orange'
    • borrowed نارنج (nāranj) (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
      • borrowed نَارَنْگ (nārang) (Classical Persian)
        • borrowed नारङ्ग (nāraṅga) (Sanskrit), 'the orange tree'

Ancestors

• laranja (Old Galician-Portuguese)
• نارنگ (Persian)
• नारङ्ग (Sanskrit)

Sources

1. laranja (Portuguese) - Wiktionary
2. laranja (Old Galician-Portuguese) - 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