Etymology

bamboo

B3A1M3B3O1O1

Today it means: Any of the fast-growing grasses of the Bambusoideae subfamily, characterized by its woody, hollow, round, straight, jointed stem. Full definition →

Dutch bamboe ← Portuguese bamb ← Malay bamb
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The story

  1. Proto-Dravidian*wē
  2. Proto-Dravidian*mpu
  3. Proto-Dravidian*wēmpu
  4. Tamilவேம்பு (vēmpu)
  5. Proto-Dravidian*wēmpu
  6. Kannadaಬಂಬು (bambu)
  7. Malaybamb
  8. Portuguesebamb
  9. Dutchbamboe
  10. English todaybamboo

Borrowed from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, from Malay bambu, from Kannada ಬಂಬು (bambu), variant form of ಬೇವು (bēvu). Cognate with Malayalam വേപ്പ് (vēppŭ), Tamil வேம்பு (vēmpu), Telugu వేప (vēpa), from Proto-Dravidian *wēmpu (“neem”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.