abricot
/a.bʁi.ko/
noun
Origin
Arabic
al-barqūq — the plum or apricot
Overview
Meaning Now
- A small, orange-yellow fruit with a velvety skin and a large stone, belonging to the Prunus armeniaca species.
- A color resembling the skin of this fruit, typically a warm, soft orange or pinkish-yellow.
Language path
Arabic → Spanish → French
Earliest form
abricot
Earliest period
16th century
Journey
The word traces back to the Latin 'praecoquum' (early-ripening), which reached French through a long journey involving Greek, Arabic, and the Iberian languages. The Arabic 'al-barqūq' was adapted into the Mediterranean languages, losing the Arabic prefix 'al-' in some dialects or integrating it in others (such as the Catalan 'albercoc').
Evolution
- Latin
praecoquum
“early-ripening (fruit)”
From prae (before) + coquere (to cook/ripen).
- Byzantine Greek
praikókion
“early-ripening apricot”
- Arabic
al-barqūq
“the plum/apricot”
With the addition of the Arabic definite article 'al-'.
- Catalan/Spanish
albercoque
“apricot”
- French
abricot
“apricot”
Adopted via contact with the Iberian peninsula.
Connections
Word parts
abricot
root
apricot
Related across languages
English
apricot
apricot
Spanish
albaricoque
apricot
Portuguese
abricó
apricot
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Related to abricot
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.