English word origin

Etymology of shiro

Possibly from Amharic or Tigrinya ሺሮ (širo, “chickpea flour”)

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A stew of Ethiopia and Eritrea origin whose primary ingredient is powdered chickpeas or broad-bean meal.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Possibly from Amharic or Tigrinya ሺሮ (širo, “chickpea flour”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionሺሮti · chickpea flour

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ti",
        "3": "ሺሮ",
        "t": "chickpea flour"
      },
      "expansion": "Tigrinya ሺሮ (širo, “chickpea flour”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "ሺሮ",
      "ሺሮ#Tigrinya"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A stew of Ethiopia and Eritrea origin whose primary ingredient is powdered chickpeas or broad-bean meal."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "recordId": "3511dd5c5074edacf0fc49ef7ccfe0059902077c1cff85610a8e03237468c350",
      "rawRecordSha256": "5291e45d771234dea01d89b49fbe171fd247175fc69cfdaf636965bf33cc0eaa",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 409616
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A mass of hyphae constituting the mycelium of certain fungi.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Of Japanese origin, either 城 (shiro, “castle”) or 白 (shiro, “white”) (see quotation below).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ja",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Japanese"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "城",
      "城#Japanese"
    ],
    [
      "白",
      "白#Japanese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A mass of hyphae constituting the mycelium of certain fungi."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "2c052117bfaab4ae602cd2b97f36b85f09ac56a1f3a3e608f771c617ef2ac4a7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "3f48c9f2c1b734bf613b84711241337f89f235c979f0cb503119c2a7b8de1eba",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 409617
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for shiro →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-c2hpcm8