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Etymology and origin of the Spanish word sarga

sarga1 twill

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1268 Ordenamiento de posturas of Jerez
Inherited from
Latin *sarica
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek σηρικός

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsaɾɡa/, [ˈsaɾ.ɣ̞a][1]

Forms

sarga f (plural sargas)[1]

Etymology

The word for the twill is inherited from Vulgar Latin *sarica, from Latin sērica (“silk cloths, silk garments”), the neuter plural of sēricus (“silken”).[2][1][3][4] The Latin adjective is from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós), named after a people of the Far East.[5][1] The Medieval Latin form is found from a document of Justinian's time on, at first of a tunic, sometimes of silk, later of linen or wool, and also of serge as a cloth.[4][3]

The same word is Old Occitan sarga, Old French sarge (modern French serge), Catalan sarja, Portuguese sarja and Italian sargia, the Italian from Old French.[4][5] Corominas regards it, with jerga “coarse cloth”, as probably a descendant of the Latin plural, as Diez first proposed, but notes that the ⟨a⟩ of the Medieval Latin form needs explaining, perhaps through a blend with sagum (“cloak”) (Gamillscheg), and that the change from silk to coarse cloth is surprising.[4] Wiktionary calls the origin uncertain and makes the two Spanish words doublets.[1] Houaiss takes the Portuguese word from Old French.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a price list of 1268 from Jerez, which sets the price of the best cloth of Saint-Omer and of sargas.[7][8] A will of 1274 leaves a garment of sarga.[7]

Semantic evolution

In 15th-century wills and inventories sargas are also painted or embroidered hangings for walls, some gilded;[9] Lope de Vega mentions sargas with the story of David.[7][4] Autoridades (1739) records two cloths: a silk with a corded weave, a little heavier than double taffeta, imported as sarga imperial and de Inglaterra, and a fine wool used for linings, with an example from Antonio de Guevara.[9][4] Today the DLE defines it as a cloth whose weave forms diagonal lines, and, in painting, as a painted cloth to decorate the walls of a room.[2][10]

Timeline

  • 1268 – a Jerez price list names sargas.[7][8]
  • 1274 – a will mentions a garment of sarga.[7]
  • 1441 – an inventory lists four gilded, embroidered sargas.[7]
  • 1512 – the first record from the Americas, a jubón de sarga in Puerto Rico.[11]
  • 1539 – Antonio de Guevara mentions hangings of sarga.[4]
  • 1739 – Autoridades describes a silk and a wool sarga.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. twill, serge: a cloth woven so as to show diagonal lines.[2][10][1]
  2. (painting) A painted cloth used to decorate the walls of rooms.[2][10]

Word family

  • asargado
  • sargado

sarga2 willow

Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1765–1783 Terreros
Inherited from
Latin *salica
Ultimate origin
Latin salix

Pronunciation

  • /ˈsaɾɡa/, [ˈsaɾ.ɣ̞a][1]

Forms

sarga f (plural sargas)[1]

Etymology

The word for the willow is inherited from Vulgar Latin *salica, according to the DLE, a derivative of Latin salix (“willow”).[2][12] García de Diego lists Basque words for the willow under the same Latin form.[12]

Corominas finds the ⟨r⟩ unexplained and suggests that a form Proto-Celtic *saliko-, related to the Latin word, was adapted early as Basque *sarika, the ancestor of zarika (“willow”), and passed from there into Romance.[13][14] Wiktionary follows him and makes the word a doublet of sauce.[1] Vox calls the origin uncertain, perhaps the Latin form with an irregular change of /l/ to /ɾ/.[15] The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *salik-, and has cognates in Old Irish and Welsh.[16]

Earliest recorded meaning

Corominas dates the word from Terreros (1765–1783).[14][13] It is in the Academy's dictionary from 1817, as a kind of osier, with the derivative sargal “a place grown with sargas”.[17]

Semantic evolution

The name is applied to different willows by region: Salix amygdalina in the Aragonese valley of Vio, Salix purpurea in Cuenca and Salix triandra in La Rioja.[13] Catalan sarga is used in much of Catalonia.[13] The Academy of 1884 described a willow-like shrub with saw-edged leaves and long flexible branches used in basketry.[18]

Timeline

  • 1765–1783 – Terreros records the plant name;[17] Corominas's first record.[14]
  • 1817 – the Academy enters it as a kind of osier, with sargal.[17]
  • 1884 – the Academy describes the shrub and its use in basketry.[18]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A willow shrub three to five metres high, with thin trunk, osier-like branches and narrow saw-edged leaves, common on riverbanks in Spain.[2][10][1]

Word family

  • sargal
  • jerga
  • sauce
  • seda
  • French serge

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. sarga
  3. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 3, 507
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sarja
  7. ^ a b c d e f Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. sarga
  8. ^ a b Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. sarga
  9. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1726–1739), Diccionario de la lengua castellana (Diccionario de Autoridades), 6 vols., Madrid: Francisco del Hierro, p. 6, 48
  10. ^ a b c d Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. sarga
  11. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. sarga
  12. ^ a b García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. 5840
  13. ^ a b c d Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 5, 176
  14. ^ a b c Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. sauce
  15. ^ Battaner Arias, Paz (dir.) (2017), Diccionario general de la lengua española VOX, Barcelona: Larousse Editorial, p. s.v. sarga
  16. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  17. ^ a b c Real Academia Española (1817), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 5th ed., Madrid: Imprenta Real, p. 787
  18. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1884), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 12th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de D. Gregorio Hernando (the first Academy edition with etymologies), p. 959

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sarga.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/es/sarga. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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