English
karela
Karela comes from Hindi करेला ‘karela, bitter melon’, and goes back to Proto-Dravidian *kāravella.
- Proto-Dravidianprehistoric (reconstructed)*kāravellareconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEकारवेल्लkāravella‘bitter melon or the Momordica charantia’
- Hindic. 1500–presentकरेलाkarelā‘karela, bitter melon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1895karela
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Dravidianprehistoric (reconstructed)*kāravellareconstructed
- Sanskritc. 1500–500 BCEकारवेल्लkāravella‘bitter melon or the Momordica charantia’
- Hindic. 1500–presentकरेलाkarelā‘karela, bitter melon’
- Englishearliest quotation 1895karela
Earliest quotation: 1895, Rudyard Kipling: “The roofs shall fade before it, The house-beams shall…”
Every English word from Proto-Dravidian *kāravella
Today it means
noun Momordica charantia, the bitter melon or bitter gourd.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Dravidian *kāravella / karela