Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Japanese ·1890s (scholarly), 1970s (mass market)
Sushi
from sushi
- Meaning
- Vinegared rice with toppings, often fish.
- Source word
- sushi
- Route into English
- Japanese *sushi* → English via post-war restaurant culture. Originally a preservation method (*narezushi*, fermented fish); modern nigiri-zushi is a 19th-century Tokyo fast food.
- Arrived
- 1890s (scholarly), 1970s (mass market)
From Japanese
Two waves — Meiji-era diplomatic contact (1850s–1900s) and post-war US military presence (1945–) account for almost all Japanese loans in general English.
English borrows.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.