Taxonomy

The name cinnamon comes from Phoenician through the Greek kinnamomon.

In many other, particularly European, languages it has a name akin to French cannelle, diminutive of canne (reed, cane) from its tube-like shape.

In Persian, it is called darchin. In Turkish, it is called "Tarcın". In Kerala state it is called 'Karuva' in local language Malayalam.

In Indonesia, where it is cultivated in Java and Sumatra, it is called kayu manis and sometimes cassia vera, the "real" cassia. In Sri Lanka, in the original Sinhala, cinnamon is known as kurundu, recorded in English in the 17th century as Korunda. In Arabic it is called qerfa.