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Why is "orange" (the fruit) called "Burtukal" (Portugal) in Arabic?

Question #152149. Asked by chabenao1.
Last updated Jul 05 2025.
Originally posted Jul 04 2025 11:34 PM.

wellenbrecher star
Answer has 0 votes
wellenbrecher star
20 year member
730 replies

Answer has 0 votes.
Oranges are not native to Europe or the Middle East. They were originally cultivated in southern China and northern India, and only reached the Mediterranean region much later via trade routes.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, it was Portuguese traders who played a key role in bringing sweet oranges from Asia to Europe and North Africa. As they spread through the Arab world, Arabic speakers began to associate the fruit with the people who had brought it: the Portuguese. Consequently, in many Arabic dialects, the word for orange became "burtuqal", which literally means "Portugal".

But Arabic isn't alone. Many other languages in the Middle East and Southeastern Europe have had the same idea.

Greek: portokáli
Turkish: portakal
Amharic: burtukan
Albanian: portokalli
Romanian: portocala
Bulgarian: portokal
Macedonian: portokal
Kurdish: pirteqal
Georgian: portokhali
Azeri: portagal

link https://www.reddit.com/r/linguistics/comments/1cmhsv/the_word_for_the_fruit_orange_in_various_european/#lightbox

Response last updated by wellenbrecher on Jul 05 2025.
Jul 05 2025, 12:37 PM
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