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Origin and history of durian

durian(n.)

globular fruit of a tree of Indonesia, 1580s, from Malay (Austronesian) durian, from duri "thorn, prickle." So called for its rind.

The durian is deemed by the Siamese the king of fruits. Its smell is offensive to European sense, and I have heard it compared to the stink of carrion and onions mingled. But the exquisite flavour of the fruit renders even its fragrance attractive to its habitués, and it is the only fruit which has ever a considerable money-value in the Siamese market. [Sir John Bowring, "The Kingdom and People of Siam," London, 1857]

also from 1580s

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Trends of durian

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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tree
Old English treo, treow "tree" (also "timber, wood, beam, log, stake"), from Proto-Germanic *trewam (source also of Old Frisian tre, Old Saxon trio, Old Norse tre, Gothic triu "tree"), from PIE *drew-o-, suffixed variant form of root *deru- "be firm, solid, steadfast," with speci
doctor
c. 1300, doctour, "Church father," from Old French doctour and directly from Medieval Latin doctor "religious teacher, adviser, scholar," in classical Latin "teacher," agent noun from docere "to show, teach, cause to know," originally "make to appear right," causative of decere "
cult
1610s, "worship, homage" (a sense now obsolete); 1670s, "a particular form or system of worship;" from French culte (17c.), from Latin cultus "care, labor; cultivation, culture; worship, reverence," originally "tended, cultivated," past participle of colere "to till" (see colony)
suffrage
late 14c., "prayer," especially "intercessory prayers or pleas on behalf of another," from Old French sofrage "plea, intercession" (13c.) and directly from Medieval Latin suffragium, from Latin suffragium "support, ballot, vote cast in an assembly; right of voting; a voting table
subtle
c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), sotil, "penetrating; ingenious; refined" (of the mind); "sophisticated, intricate, abstruse" (of arguments), from Old French sotil, soutil, subtil "adept, adroit; cunning, wise; detailed; well-crafted" (12c., Modern French subtil), from Latin subt
energy
1590s, "force of expression," from French énergie (16c.), from Late Latin energia, from Greek energeia "activity, action, operation," from energos "active, working," from en "at" (see en- (2)) + -ergos "that works," from ergon "work, that which is wrought; business; action" (from
anathema
1520s, "an accursed thing," from Latin anathema "an excommunicated person; the curse of excommunication," from Ecclesiastical Greek anathema "a thing accursed," a slight variation of classical Greek anathama, which meant merely "a thing devoted," literally "a thing set up (to the
affidavit
"written declaration upon an oath," 1590s, from Medieval Latin affidavit, literally "he has stated on oath," third person singular perfective of affidare "to trust; to make an oath," from Latin ad "to" (see ad-) + fidare "to trust," from fidus "faithful" (from PIE root *bheidh- "
pledge
mid-14c., plegge, "surety, bail," from Old French plege (Modern French pleige) "hostage, security, bail," also Anglo-Latin plegium, both probably from Frankish *plegan "to guarantee," from *pleg-, a West Germanic root meaning "have responsibility for" (source also of Old Saxon pl
strike
Middle English striken, from Old English strican (past tense strac, past participle stricen) "pass lightly over, stroke, smooth, rub" (senses now obsolete), also "go, move, proceed, make one's way," from Proto-Germanic *strikanan (source also of Old Norse strykva "to stroke," Old

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