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raisin

RAY-zin · noun

LatinAnglo-NormanMiddle EnglishEnglish

Origin

Raisin comes from Middle English raysyn, borrowed from Anglo-Norman reysin, meaning 'grape' or 'raisin', which traces to Late Latin racīmus, from Latin racēmus.

Journey

In Anglo-Norman, the word could mean either a fresh grape or a dried one; over time in English it settled specifically on the dried form.

Related words

Raisin is a doublet of raceme, the botanical term for a cluster of flowers or fruit growing along a stem — both descend from the same Latin racēmus.

More words

From Anglo-Norman

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