Etymology

baobab

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Today it means: A tree, Adansonia digitata, native to tropical Africa, having a broad swollen trunk and edible gourd-like hanging fruits. Full definition →

Medieval Latin bahobab ← Arabic أَبُو حِبَاب
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The story

  1. Arabic · derived fromأَبُو حِبَاب“father of many seeds”
  2. Medieval Latin · borrowed frombahobab
  3. English todaybaobab

Borrowed from Medieval Latin bahobab, from Arabic أَبُو حِبَاب (ʔabū ḥibāb, “father of many seeds”), from أَبُو (ʔabū, “father”) + حَبّ (ḥabb, “seed”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.