Afrikaans staal | ||
Albanian çeliku | ||
Amharic ብረት | ||
Arabic صلب | ||
Armenian պողպատե | ||
Assamese তীখা | ||
Aymara asiru | ||
Azerbaijani polad | ||
Bambara nɛgɛ | ||
Basque altzairua | ||
Belarusian сталі | ||
Bengali ইস্পাত | ||
Bhojpuri इस्पात | ||
Bosnian čelik | ||
Bulgarian стомана | ||
Catalan acer | ||
Cebuano asero | ||
Chinese (Simplified) 钢 | ||
Chinese (Traditional) 鋼 | ||
Corsican acciaiu | ||
Croatian željezo | ||
Czech ocel | ||
Danish stål | ||
Dhivehi ދަގަނޑު | ||
Dogri फुलाद | ||
Dutch staal | ||
English steel | ||
Esperanto ŝtalo | ||
Estonian terasest | ||
Ewe ga | ||
Filipino (Tagalog) bakal | ||
Finnish teräs | ||
French acier | ||
Frisian stiel | ||
Galician aceiro | ||
Georgian ფოლადი | ||
German stahl | ||
Greek ατσάλι | ||
Guarani kuarepotitã | ||
Gujarati સ્ટીલ | ||
Haitian Creole asye | ||
Hausa karfe | ||
Hawaiian kila | ||
Hebrew פְּלָדָה | ||
Hindi इस्पात | ||
Hmong hlau | ||
Hungarian acél- | ||
Icelandic stál | ||
Igbo ígwè | ||
Ilocano landok | ||
Indonesian baja | ||
Irish cruach | ||
Italian acciaio | ||
Japanese 鋼 | ||
Javanese waja | ||
Kannada ಉಕ್ಕು | ||
Kazakh болат | ||
Khmer ដែកថែប | ||
Kinyarwanda ibyuma | ||
Konkani तिख्यें | ||
Korean 강철 | ||
Krio ayɛn | ||
Kurdish pola | ||
Kurdish (Sorani) ستیل | ||
Kyrgyz болот | ||
Lao ເຫຼັກ | ||
Latin ferro | ||
Latvian tērauds | ||
Lingala acier | ||
Lithuanian plienas | ||
Luganda kyuuma | ||
Luxembourgish stol | ||
Macedonian челик | ||
Maithili इस्पात | ||
Malagasy vy | ||
Malay keluli | ||
Malayalam ഉരുക്ക് | ||
Maltese azzar | ||
Maori maitai | ||
Marathi स्टील | ||
Meiteilon (Manipuri) ꯁ꯭ꯇꯤꯜ | ||
Mizo thir | ||
Mongolian ган | ||
Myanmar (Burmese) သံမဏိ | ||
Nepali इस्पात | ||
Norwegian stål | ||
Nyanja (Chichewa) chitsulo | ||
Odia (Oriya) ଇସ୍ପାତ | | ||
Oromo sibiila | ||
Pashto اوسپنه | ||
Persian فولاد | ||
Polish stal | ||
Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) aço | ||
Punjabi ਸਟੀਲ | ||
Quechua acero | ||
Romanian oţel | ||
Russian стали | ||
Samoan uamea | ||
Sanskrit अय | ||
Scots Gaelic stàilinn | ||
Sepedi tšhipi | ||
Serbian челика | ||
Sesotho tšepe | ||
Shona simbi | ||
Sindhi اسٽيل | ||
Sinhala (Sinhalese) යකඩ | ||
Slovak oceľ | ||
Slovenian jeklo | ||
Somali birta | ||
Spanish acero | ||
Sundanese waja | ||
Swahili chuma | ||
Swedish stål | ||
Tagalog (Filipino) bakal | ||
Tajik пӯлод | ||
Tamil எஃகு | ||
Tatar корыч | ||
Telugu ఉక్కు | ||
Thai เหล็ก | ||
Tigrinya ሓጺን | ||
Tsonga nsimbhi | ||
Turkish çelik | ||
Turkmen polat | ||
Twi (Akan) dadeɛ | ||
Ukrainian сталь | ||
Urdu سٹیل | ||
Uyghur پولات | ||
Uzbek po'lat | ||
Vietnamese thép | ||
Welsh dur | ||
Xhosa intsimbi | ||
Yiddish שטאָל | ||
Yoruba irin | ||
Zulu insimbi |
| Language | Etymology / Notes |
|---|---|
| Afrikaans | The Afrikaans word "staal" is a homophone of the English word "stale," but they do not have the same etymology. |
| Albanian | The Albanian word “çeliku” is derived from the Proto-Albanian word *kelk-, meaning “to forge or beat metal,” and is related to the Greek word χάλυψ (chálups), also meaning “steel.” |
| Amharic | The word "ብረት" can also refer to "iron" or "metal" in general, and is sometimes used specifically to mean "pewter". |
| Arabic | The word (صلب) "steel" came from "صلب", which means "to harden" in Arabic; it's also used to mean "harsh" or "firm". |
| Armenian | The Armenian word "պողպատե" comes from the Middle Persian word "polād" which translates to iron. |
| Azerbaijani | The word |
| Basque | The Basque word "altzairua" comes from the Latin word "aciarius," which means "made of steel". |
| Belarusian | The word 'сталі' ('steel') is cognate with similar words across Slavic languages, all derived from the Proto-Slavic root *stalь, which itself likely comes from the Germanic root *stala- ('to stand'). |
| Bengali | The word 'ইস্পাত' also means 'a weapon' in Bengali. |
| Bosnian | "Čelik" is derived from the Persian word "çölik" meaning "hard". In Bosnian, it can also mean "courage" or "strength". |
| Bulgarian | The word "стомана" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*stьna", meaning "hard" or "strong". |
| Catalan | Catalan "acer" also means "maple", cognate with Latin "acer", from Proto-Indo-European "h₂eḱ-er-os" ("sharp"). |
| Cebuano | The Filipino word “asero” comes from the Spanish word “acero” which originally referred to the blade of swords or knives forged in steel |
| Chinese (Simplified) | In the Spring and Autumn Period, 钢 referred to a kind of refined iron, which is different from the steel we know today. |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 鋼, the Chinese word for "steel," originally referred to a type of hard metal used in ancient Chinese weapons. |
| Corsican | In Corsican, "acciaiu" also means "sword" or "knife". |
| Croatian | The word 'željezo' derives from Slavic 'železo' ('iron'). In Croatian 'željezo' specifically refers to steel, whereas 'železo' is used for both 'iron' and 'steel' in other Slavic languages such as Serbian. |
| Czech | Ocel is a word that was borrowed from Russian and has the same meaning in both languages, but it also has a secondary meaning in Czech referring to the eye of an animal, a meaning that it doesn't have in Russian. |
| Danish | The word "stål" also means "sample" or "type" in Danish, derived from the Old Norse word "stál" meaning "place" or "stand". |
| Dutch | "Staal" can also mean "sample" or "example" in Dutch. |
| Esperanto | The Esperantido word "ŝtalo" has an alternate meaning as a "a place where stallions are bred". |
| Estonian | The word "terasest" is cognate with the Finnish word "teräs" and the Hungarian word "törzs", both meaning "steel". |
| Finnish | The word 'teräs' is also used in Finnish to refer to a small, sharp object, such as a knife or a razor blade. |
| French | The word acier derives from the Latin word |
| Frisian | Frisian stiel (steel) may be cognate with Old Saxon stîl (still). |
| Galician | The word 'aceiro' comes from the Latin 'acērum', meaning sharp, or the Celtic word for iron |
| Georgian | The word "ფოლადი" is derived from the Persian word "pūlād" and can also refer to "iron" or "metal" in Georgian. |
| German | The word "Stahl" is derived from the Old High German "stahal" meaning "tempered iron" or "metal". |
| Greek | The word "ατσάλι" (steel) in Greek comes from the Italian "acciale" (steel), which is linked to French "acier", that is, steel. |
| Gujarati | The word 'steel' originates from the Proto-Germanic word '*stīhanan*', meaning 'to stiffen' or 'to be firm'. |
| Haitian Creole | The word "asye" in Haitian Creole is a cognate of the Spanish word "acero" and ultimately derives from the Latin word "acier" (steel), which is also the root of the English word "steel". |
| Hausa | The word "karfe" also means "strong" or "unyielding" in Hausa. |
| Hawaiian | In Hawaiian, the word "kila" also refers to a type of bird, the Hawaiian Stilt. |
| Hebrew | The word "פְּלָדָה" can also mean "sword" in Biblical Hebrew, and "steel" is likely derived from this original meaning. |
| Hindi | The word 'इस्पात' is derived from the Persian word 'asp', meaning 'horse', and refers to the strength and durability of steel. |
| Hmong | The word "hlau" (steel) can also mean "knife" or "weapon". |
| Hungarian | The word "acél" is derived from the Turkish word "çelik", which itself comes from the Persian word "sah" meaning "iron". |
| Icelandic | The word "stál" in Icelandic, meaning "steel," derives from the Proto-Germanic term "*staljam," also signifying "hardness" or "strength." |
| Igbo | The Igbo word “ígwè” also means “gun” and is closely related to the word “ìgwé” meaning “arrow”. |
| Indonesian | The word "baja" can also refer to "iron" or "metal". |
| Irish | The word "cruach" in Irish shares its etymological root with the Latin word "cruor," meaning blood, and is also related to the Old Irish word "cruaich," meaning hilltop. |
| Italian | The word "acciaio" comes from the Latin "acies", meaning "sharp edge" or "blade". |
| Japanese | The character "鋼", meaning "steel", is also used as a phonetic component in some loanwords, such as "ピアノ" (piano) and "ガソリン" (gasoline). |
| Javanese | The word "waja" is also used in Javanese to refer to a type of traditional dagger. |
| Kannada | The word "ಉಕ್ಕು" ("steel") may originate from the Proto-Dravidian root *ukku-, meaning "to melt" or "to forge". |
| Kazakh | The word "болат" ("steel") in Kazakh stems from the ancient Turkic word "булат", meaning "unyielding, strong" and also refers to a type of legendary, strong metal in Turkic folklore. |
| Khmer | The word "ដែកថែប" can also refer to "steel-grey" or "cast-iron". |
| Korean | The word “강철” (“steel” in English) originally meant “hardened iron.” |
| Kurdish | In Kurdish, 'pola' also refers to a type of traditional sword or blade. |
| Kyrgyz | In Kyrgyz, "болот" can also refer to a male name, meaning "strong" or "firm". |
| Lao | Lao "ເຫຼັກ" can also mean "iron", and is related to Siamese "เหล็ก" and Vietnamese "sắt", all from Old Khmer *sleek |
| Latin | Ferro comes from the Proto-Indo-European root "*h₂es-," meaning "bronze" or "copper." |
| Latvian | The Latvian word "tērauds" is derived from the Germanic word "ståhl", which means "steel". |
| Lithuanian | The word "plienas" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *plei- meaning "to flow" or "to melt", suggesting its connection to the process of metalworking. |
| Luxembourgish | In archaic Luxembourgish, "Stol" can also mean "chair" or "stool". |
| Macedonian | The Macedonian word "челик" is a borrowing from the Turkish word "çelik", which itself is a borrowing from the Persian word "پولاد" (pūlād) |
| Malagasy | The word "vy" in Malagasy can also refer to a type of ironwood tree, or to the wood of that tree. |
| Malay | Malay "keluli" is borrowed from Sanskrit "karal" or "kalal" meaning ferrous or rust-colored. It can also mean "blacksmith". |
| Malayalam | In Malayalam, "ഉരുക്ക്" (steel) derives from the Sanskrit word "उरुक्" (hard), which also signifies "strong, unyielding, firm" and "powerful, mighty". |
| Maltese | The word "azzar" derives from the Arabic word "aṣ-ṣafra" (yellow), referring to the color of molten steel. |
| Maori | In Maori, `maitai` has alternate meanings including "good", "fine", "excellent", and "very". |
| Marathi | The word 'steel' originates from the Proto-Germanic word '*stalja-', meaning 'hard'. |
| Mongolian | The word "ган" (steel) in Mongolian is also the name of a type of arrow used in traditional archery. |
| Myanmar (Burmese) | The word "သံမဏိ" (steel) is derived from the Pali language, where "saṃmaṇi" means "well-wrought" and refers to the process of forging or refining metal. |
| Nepali | The word "इस्पात" is derived from the Persian word "ispād" and ultimately from the Greek word "στάλις" (stālis). |
| Norwegian | The word "stål" comes from the Old Norse word "stál", meaning "iron" or "metal". |
| Nyanja (Chichewa) | The word "chitsulo" in Nyanja can refer to "iron" or any other hard substance |
| Pashto | In Pashto, the word "اوسپنه" has similar Indo-European roots to "iron" in English, "Eisen" in German, "sidero" in Ancient Greek and "sidus" meaning star, due to its association with meteorite. |
| Persian | The word "فولاد" (fulād) in Persian is derived from the Arabic word "فولاذ" (fulādh), which ultimately originates from the Greek word "χάλυψ" (khálups), meaning "hardened iron" or "steel". |
| Polish | The name "stal" comes from the Proto-Slavic word *stalь, meaning "to cast" or "to harden". |
| Portuguese (Portugal, Brazil) | The Portuguese word "aço" originates from the Proto-Celtic word for "edge" and is related to the English word "edge" and the Welsh word "asgwrn" (bone). |
| Punjabi | The Punjabi word for 'steel' is derived from the Sanskrit word 'stahl', which originally meant 'iron'. |
| Romanian | "Oţel" comes from the Hungarian word "acél" meaning the same; it is unrelated to Romanian "oţ" ("vinegar"). |
| Russian | The word "стали" in Russian can refer to either the material steel or to the process of making steel. |
| Samoan | In ancient Samoan, "uamea" is the name of a sacred bird that symbolized bravery and courage. |
| Scots Gaelic | The Gaelic word for "steel" (stàilinn) is cognate with "stallion" in English and most other Indo-European languages. |
| Serbian | The word "челика" has other meanings in Serbian: a kind of plum, a type of sword, and a personal name. |
| Sesotho | The word "tšepe" originates from the Proto-Bantu word "*tsipa", meaning "metal" or "iron." |
| Shona | The word "simbi" in Shona can also refer to a type of metal object used for striking or cutting. |
| Sindhi | The Sindhi word "اسٽيل" (isteel) is derived from the English word "steel" and also refers to the metal alloy. |
| Sinhala (Sinhalese) | The word "යකඩ" (steel) in Sinhala is derived from the Sanskrit word "Ayas" (metal). |
| Slovak | In archaic Slovak, "oceľ" also means "blade", "weapon". |
| Slovenian | The word "jeklo" is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂eǵ- "to sharpen, to cut" and is related to the Latin word "acus" meaning "needle". |
| Somali | Somali has two words for steel: "birta", which is often used to refer to the metal in its raw form, and "birla", which is typically used to refer to finished steel products. |
| Spanish | The word "acero" comes from the Latin "acorium", which is derived from the Greek "akōr", meaning "edge" or "point". |
| Sundanese | The word "waja" also refers to a traditional Sundanese sword used in the martial art of pencak silat. |
| Swahili | The Swahili word "chuma" also refers to "iron" and, figuratively, to "strength," "toughness" and "endurance." |
| Swedish | "Stål" also means "hard" or "cold" in Swedish |
| Tagalog (Filipino) | "Bakal" is also a term used in traditional Philippine martial arts referring to the core, central part of the body, often associated with strength and power. |
| Tajik | The word "pūlod" can also refer to iron, specifically in the form of swords or other weapons. |
| Tamil | "எஃகு" (steel) in Tamil, is derived from the Sanskrit word "अयस्" (ayas), meaning "metal" or "iron". |
| Telugu | The Telugu word "ఉక్కు" (steel) is derived from the Sanskrit word "उत्कट" (utkaṭa), which means "hard", "firm", or "invincible". |
| Thai | The word "เหล็ก" (steel) shares an origin with "เหล็กไหล" (mythical liquid metal), both deriving from the verb "หล่อ" (to cast). |
| Turkish | The word "çelik" can also mean "hard or durable" in Turkish. |
| Ukrainian | The word "сталь" is derived from the Proto-Slavic word "*stъlь", which also means "iron" or "metal." |
| Urdu | The word "سٹیل" (steel) in Urdu ultimately derives from the Germanic word "stician" (to stick), and is also related to the English word "stick". |
| Uzbek | In Uzbek, "po'lat" is ultimately derived from the Proto-Iranian word for "iron" and also means "hero" or "warrior". |
| Vietnamese | "Thép" is derived from the Chinese word "tiě" (鐵), meaning "iron" or "metal". |
| Welsh | The Welsh word 'dur' shares an etymology with the Latin word 'durus', meaning 'hard or unyielding'. |
| Xhosa | Intsimbi is derived from the Zulu word "insingo", meaning "iron" or "metal." |
| Yiddish | The word "שטאָל" (shtol) can also refer to "boldness" or "chutzpah" in Yiddish. |
| Yoruba | The Yoruba word 'irin' has other meanings besides 'steel', such as 'iron', 'metal', and 'money'. |
| Zulu | In Zulu, the word "insimbi" also means "metal" and is derived from the Proto-Bantu root "-simba-", meaning "to shine" or "to glitter." |
| English | The word "steel" comes from the Proto-Germanic word "*staihla~", meaning "strong, firm." |