The word mango hints at an exotic origin, and I first thought Africa when I came across it (silly me! So unknowledgeable about the history of the mango!). Turns out the word's history is closely correlated to the fruit's history. The mango first grew in South Asia, and was cultivated by Dravidian Ainu speakers, who called it ma kay, which roughly meant "an uncultivated fruit". This word passed into the Tamil language (arguably the most important Dravidian tongue) as mankay, still with the same definition. In the fifteenth century, Malay sailors dominated the Indian Ocean, trading from the South China sea to the shores of the Arabian peninsula. Therefore, mankay passed into the Malay language as mangga, quite a mangling, but they didn't care, since they were enjoying their mangoes. In the sixteenth century, Portugese sailors were the first to trade with Southeast Asia, where they picked up the mango and the local word for it, changing it slightly to manga. This soon spread to England as an intriguing exotic fruit with an intriguing exotic name: the mango.
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1/1/2024 08:00:08 pm
I found this history of the mango absolutely fascinating! It's incredible how the word "mango" has traveled through various languages and cultures over the centuries. I had no idea that it originated from the Dravidian Ainu speakers as "ma kay" and made its way to Southeast Asia, ultimately reaching England as "mango."
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1/10/2024 07:45:05 am
Wow, I had no idea that the word "mango" had such a fascinating history! It's incredible to see how language evolves and how the fruit itself has traveled across cultures and regions. Thanks for sharing this insightful information. I'll never look at a mango the same way again!
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1/29/2024 09:34:03 am
It's fascinating how the word "mango" carries such a rich history behind it, linking it to its South Asian origins. Initially, when I heard the word "mango," I couldn't help but associate it with Africa, but it's amazing how our perceptions can change with a little knowledge.
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AUTHORHello! I'm Adam Aleksic. I have a linguistics degree from Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote my thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy traveling, trivia, philosophy, board games, conlanging, and art history.
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