English
cascara
Cascara comes from Spanish cáscara ‘bark" or "husk’, from Latin quassāre ‘to tremor’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti1uncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquatiō2‘to shake’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquassāre2‘to tremor’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcáscara3‘bark" or "husk’
- Englishearliest quotation 1972cascara3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin quatio, which cites LIV
- 2 Wiktionary, Spanish cáscara
- 3 Wiktionary, English cascara
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, John O'Grady, It's Your Shout: “"That's as bitter as a dose of cascara."”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kuh₁t-yé-tiWiktionary, Latin quatio, which cites LIVuncertain
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquatiōWiktionary, Spanish cáscara‘to shake’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEquassāreWiktionary, Spanish cáscara‘to tremor’
- Spanishc. 1500–presentcáscaraWiktionary, English cascara‘bark" or "husk’
- Englishearliest quotation 1972cascaraWiktionary, English cascara. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1972, John O'Grady, It's Your Shout: “"That's as bitter as a dose of cascara."”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti
pasta, paste, pastiche, patisserie, 26 more
through Latin quatiō ‘to shake’
concussion, cashier, quash, repercussion, zouk, fracas, casse, casco, 16 more
Today it means
noun A North American buckthorn (Frangula purshiana, syn. Rhamnus purshiana) whose bark is used as a laxative.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cascara”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin quatio, Spanish cáscara. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kuh₁t-yé-ti / cascara