kermes

The story

1. Proto-Indo-Iranian · derived from*kŕ̥miš“worm”
2. Arabic · derived fromقِرْمِز
3. Medieval Latin · derived fromcremesinus
4. French · borrowed fromkermès
5. English todaykermes

PIE word *kʷŕ̥mis First attested ca. 1600, from French kermès, from Medieval Latin cremesinus (compare Italian chermes, Spanish carmes), from Arabic قِرْمِز (qirmiz) (whence also Portuguese quermes, alquermes), from a Persian word meaning “worm-colored” (compare modern Persian قرمز (qermez)), ultimately Proto-Indo-Iranian *kŕ̥miš (“worm”), possibly via borrowing from a Sanskrit formation. Related to carmine and crimson. For the semantic development, compare vermilion from Latin vermis (“worm”) and its cognates.

Words from the same roots