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mahogani

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Etymology and origin of the French word mahogani

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1751 Raulin's translation of a History of Jamaica More words from the 18th century
Borrowed from
English mahogany
Ultimate origin
English mahogany
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English mahogany
French mahogani

Pronunciation

  • /ma.ɔ.ɡa.ni/[1]

Forms

mahogani m (plural mahoganis)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English mahogany, first used in French in its English spelling.[2][1] The English word, recorded from 1671 or 1675 in the spelling ⟨mahogeney⟩ for a Jamaican tree, is of obscure origin;[2][3] Friederici suggested the Island Arawak name maga of the same tree, recorded in a Spanish text of 1528 in Puerto Rico,[2] the Grand Robert thinks it probably Carib,[3] and Etymonline derives it from Spanish mahogani, perhaps from a Mayan name.[4] Linnaeus took it into botanical Latin as New Latin mahagoni in 1762.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as mahogany in 1751, in Raulin's translation of a history of Jamaica, for the tree.[2]

Semantic evolution

The spelling mahogani is recorded from 1851,[3] beside mahagoni in Littré (1867), mahogany again in 1870 and mahogoni in the Larousse of 1902.[3][5] By metonymy it names the wood; in 1927 Gide wrote of mahogany bought at Grand-Bassam by an American company and sold back to the French as mahogany du Honduras.[2] In French the usual name of the wood is acajou.[2]

Timeline

  • 1751 – Mahogany in a translation from English.[2]
  • 1762 – Linnaeus's botanical Latin mahagoni.[3]
  • 1851 – The spelling mahogani.[3]
  • 1867 – Littré writes mahagoni.[3][5]
  • 1902 – The Larousse writes mahogoni.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mahogany tree of America and Australia, whose fine, close-grained wood is used in cabinetmaking; acajou.[2][5]
  2. The wood of this tree.[2][1]
  • acajou

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mahogani.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mahogani. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·