Vitellaria Paradoxa - Etymology

Etymology

The common name is shíyiri or shísu (lit. 'shea tree') in the Bamana language of Mali. This is the origin of the English word, and is correctly pronounced "shee" to rhyme with "tea." The tree is called ghariti in the Wolof language of Senegal, which is the origin of the French name of the tree (and of its butter), "karité".

The tree was formerly classified in the genus Butyrospermum, meaning 'butter seed.' The species name parkii honors Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who learned of the tree while exploring Senegal. The tree is now classified using the binomial name Vitellaria paradoxa. That Mungo Park was Scottish is reflected in the English spelling of the tree, nut, and butter as shea with a final -ea.

Vernacular names in Niger-Congo languages' Ɓodoe || kɔ̂l || shea

Gonja || ŋ̀-kú || shea

Dagbani || tááŋ̀à|| shea tree

Ga || ŋ̀kú || shea-butter

Igbo || òkwùma || shea-butter

Yoruba || ori || shea-butter

Nupe || èkó || shea-butter nut

Obiro || òkʷô || shea tree

Tinor || kɔ̃̀ɲɔ̃̀ || shea tree

Ake || kìkyɔ̃̀ || shea tree

Tarok || ìkíní || shea tree

Doori || kólá || shea tree

Bambara || ʃi || shea

Read more about this topic:  Vitellaria Paradoxa

Famous quotes containing the word etymology:

    Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.
    Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)

    The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.
    Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)