Etymograph

English

kohl

Kohl comes from Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’, and goes back to Sumerian 𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕.

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-da1transliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlum2transliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘antimony’
  3. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלא2kuḥlā
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْل3kuḥl‘antimony; kohl’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2002kohl3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Arabic كحل
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English kohl
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man: “A plain, big woman with heavily kohled eyes and…”.

Lineage

  1. Sumerianc. 3100–1800 BCEna₄.šem-bi-zi-daWiktionary, Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕transliteratedcuneiform na₄.šem-bi-zi-da, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary
  2. Akkadianc. 2500–100 BCEguḫlumWiktionary, Arabic كحلtransliteratedcuneiform guḫlum, a transliteration; the original signs are in Wiktionary‘antimony’
  3. Aramaicc. 1000 BCE–700 CEכוחלאWiktionary, Arabic كحلkuḥlā
  4. Arabicc. 500–presentكُحْلWiktionary, English kohlkuḥl‘antimony; kohl’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 2002kohlWiktionary, English kohl. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2002, Zadie Smith, The Autograph Man: “A plain, big woman with heavily kohled eyes and…”

Linked words

pairs

  • kohl and alcohol both from Arabic كُحْل ‘kohl’

through Aramaic כוחלא ‘stibnite, antimony’

alcoholic, 18 more

through Arabic كُحْل ‘antimony’

glycol, thiol, 19 more

Today it means

noun A dark powder, usually powdered stibnite (an antimony ore), used as eye makeup, especially in Eastern countries.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “kohl”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕, Arabic كحل. 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 / Sumerian na₄.šem-bi-zi-da / kohl

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