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caril

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Etymology and origin of the Portuguese word caril

Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1548 spelt caryl More words from the 16th century
Borrowed from
Konkani kadhī
Ultimate origin
Konkani kadhī

Pronunciation

  • Brazil: /kaˈɾiw/, [kaˈɾiʊ̯][1]
  • Portugal: /kɐˈɾil/, [kɐˈɾiɫ][1]
  • Portugal, Southern: /kɐˈɾi.li/[1]

Forms

caril m (plural caris)[1] The 16th- and 17th-century texts write caryl (1548), carril (about 1608) and the plural carris (1616).[2]

Etymology

It is a word of southern India, borrowed in the 16th century.[3][2] Dalgado, whom Houaiss follows, names two possible sources, borrowed from Konkani kadhī, a word Konkani shares with Marathi, and Malayalam kari, shared by Malayalam and Tamil, and thinks the first the more likely.[4][2][5] Wiktionary derives it from Tamil கறி (kaṟi).[1] Yule and Burnell proposed a Kannada source, but Dalgado doubted that the Kannada word exists, since the dictionaries do not record it.[4][2] Dalgado compares the final ⟨-l⟩ with that of candil.[4]

Dalgado gives English curry, French cari and Dutch karrie as the corresponding words of other European languages.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates caryl to 1548.[2] Dalgado's first quotation is from Gaspar Correia's Lendas, describing events of 1502, where someone is to have caril made to eat.[4] In these first records it is the spiced sauce eaten with rice in India.[4]

Semantic evolution

Pereira (1697) glosses it as an Indian dish made with rice.[6] Bluteau (1712–1728) calls it a word of India: a sauce poured over rice, made with the sour juice of tamarinds, and adds that in Brazil a caril is made with fish broth.[7] Dalgado lists the spices in it, among them chilli, pepper, saffron, cumin, ginger, tamarind and coconut, and notes that Europeans use the word for the whole meal, which in India is called arroz-caril.[4] Vieira (1871–1874) records an Indian sauce of tamarind juice, a Brazilian one made with pounded coconut, and European imitations.[8]

By the end of the 19th century the word named the powder of mixed spices as well as the sauce.[9][10] In Mozambique it is a sauce made with peanut, cashew or coconut milk; in Brazil the usual word is curry.[11]

Timeline

  • 1548 – first dated record, spelt caryl.[2]
  • 1563 – Gaspar Correia's Lendas, telling of events of 1502, mention caril.[4]
  • c. 1608 – the spelling carril.[2]
  • 1697 – Pereira's dictionary lists Caril.[6]
  • 1712–1728 – Bluteau describes the Indian sauce and its Brazilian form.[7]
  • 1871–1874 – Vieira records Indian, Brazilian and European kinds of the sauce.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. curry powder: an Indian condiment of mixed ground spices, such as turmeric, ginger and chilli, used to season and colour food.[2][5][1]
  2. A sauce made with this condiment, often with coconut and other ingredients.[2][5]
  3. A dish of meat, fish or shellfish cooked with this condiment.[5][11]
  4. (Mozambique) A sauce made with peanut, cashew or coconut milk.[11]

Usage notes

In Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking countries of Africa and Asia the word is caril; in Brazil curry is used instead.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. caril
  3. ^ Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. caril
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Dalgado, Sebastião Rodolfo (1919–1921), Glossário luso-asiático, 2 vols., Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade, p. 1, 217
  5. ^ a b c d Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. caril
  6. ^ a b Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. caril
  7. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. caril
  8. ^ a b Vieira, Frei Domingos (1871–1874), Grande Diccionario Portuguez ou Thesouro da lingua portugueza, 5 vols., Porto: Ernesto Chardron e Bartholomeu H. de Moraes, p. 2, 112
  9. ^ Figueiredo, Cândido de (1899), Novo diccionário da língua portuguesa, 1st ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Tavares Cardoso & Irmão, p. s.v. caril
  10. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. caril
  11. ^ a b c d Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 1816
Cite this entry

“Caril.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/pt/caril. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

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