wootz

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A type of steel from India, much admired for making sword blades.

Pronunciation

/wuːts/

Word forms

wootz wootzes

Etymology

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, probably from a misreading of wook, an English transcription of (the root of) Kannada ಉಕ್ಕು (ukku),ಉರ್ಕು (urku, “steel”), Telugu ఉక్కు (ukku, “steel”); akin to Tamil உருகு (uruku, “to melt”) and உருக்கு (urukku, “melted thing, steel”).

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