بارود

Where it comes from

Uncertain. Not a Classical Arabic word. Possible etymologies:

* From بَرُود (barūd, “a soothing collyrium (كُحْل (kuḥl)) used against inflammation of the eye; any powdery collyrium”), following common colloquial alteration between a and ā in words of the form CaCūC.

* Via Aramaic from Armenian վառօդ (vaṙōd, “gunpowder”), composed of վառ (vaṙ, “burning”) + օդ (ōd, “air”). However, Ačaṙyan regards this as a folk-etymology reshaping of բարութ (barutʻ), which was ultimately borrowed from this very Arabic term.

* From Medival Greek πύρωτον (pýrōton, “type of flammable chemical”), from Ancient Greek πυρίτης λίθος (purítēs líthos, “stone of fire, flint”), the first part is an adjective πυρίτης (purítēs, “of or in fire”), from πῦρ (pûr, “fire”).