When you hear 'loofah' are you hearing English or Arabic?

'Loofah' is a word borrowed from Arabic 'lūfa'. The word entered the English language some time around 1887.

loofah [noun] [1887]

• any of a genus (Luffa) of Old World tropical plants of the gourd family with large fruits
• its fruit
• a sponge consisting of the fibrous skeleton of the fruit of a loofah (especially )

See 'loofah' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Arabic.

Etymology: New Latin 'luffa' from Arabic 'lūf'

See more loan words from 1800s.