A comparative study of the word sugar and of its equivalents in Hindustani as traceable to Chinese.

Etymology enables words to deliver past facts and can become an independent source of knowledge. Here the word sugar is traced to the Chinese term Sha-Che, literally "Sand-Sugar plant," signifying a sand-like product from the sugar plant, which is sugar. Sha-Che underwent the following phonetic changes: Sha-Che = Sha-Ke = Shar-Ker = Sharkera, which became the Sanskrit word for sugar, with the variant Sha-Kera. Its popular vernacular form became Shak-Ker. This entered Arabic as Al-Shakker, changing into Al-Sukker, pronounced as "Assuker." Muslims in Spain gave the Spanish their word when Assuker = Azucar (Spanish). Sukker, the real Arabic word, entered Old French as Suker-e, Italian as Zuker-o or Zucckero, and German as Zucker. When "k" is emphasized it can become aspirated as "kh" or doubled as "kk," or mutate into "g." Sukker then changed into Sugar with the "s" further mutating into "sh," giving the final form Shugar, written as Sugar. The Greeks directly borrowed the popular vernacular word Shakker. It was Hellenized as Sakkharon, mentioned by Discoredes in 56 A.D. From the Greek it passed into Latin as Saccharum. In India the large crystalline form of sugar is called Misri. Its Chinese original is Mi-Sha-Li, "sweet-pebble-glassy," a sweet crystalline (glassy) substance the size of pebbles. Another form of sugar is in small crystals, which in a heap appear opaque-white or porcelain-white rather than transparent salt-white. Porcelain-white sugar was called Cheeni, where Cheeni = Porcelain. Thus, Cheeni does not mean Chinese sugar, nor Misri Egyptian sugar. Both these forms of sugar were sweetening agents not intended to be directly consumed. But a sweet, composed of sugar and an article of food, was known in Chinese as Kan-Di, "Sweet-Drop." This became Candy in English, Qand in Arabic, Khanda in Sanskrit and Khand in vernaculars.