sumac

The story

1. Classical Syriac · derived fromܣܘܡܩܐ“red; sumac”
2. Arabic · derived fromسُمَّاق
3. Medieval Latin · derived fromsumach
4. Old French · derived fromsumac
5. Anglo-Norman · derived fromsumak
6. Middle English · inherited fromsumac
7. English todaysumac

The noun is derived from Middle English sumac, asimac, simak, sumak, symak (“portions of the shrub Rhus coriaria, chiefly used for medicinal purposes”), from Anglo-Norman sumak, symak, and Old French sumac, or directly from its etymon Medieval Latin sumach, sumac, from Arabic سُمَّاق (summāq), from Classical Syriac ܣܘܡܩܐ (summāqā, “red; sumac”). The English word is cognate with Italian sommaco, sommacco, Occitan simac, Portuguese sumagre, Spanish zumaque. The verb is derived from the noun.