The word ultimately derives from a Dravidian language—possibly Tamil நாரம் nāram or Telugu నారింజ nāriṃja or Malayalam നാരങ്ങ‌ nāraŋŋa—via Sanskrit नारङ्ग nāraṅgaḥ "orange tree". From there the word entered Persian نارنگ nārang and then Arabic نارنج nāranj.[2] The initial n was lost through rebracketing in Italian and French, though some varieties of Arabic lost the n earlier.[2]