The Word “Cake” in Arabic

When english speaking students learn Arabic and come across the word "cake" كَعْكٌ, they often assume it is borrowed from English.

In reality, it’s a totally different picture.

Classical scholars like Imām ar-Rāzī (d. 666 AH) noted in Mukhtār aṣ-Ṣiḥāḥ that

...kaʿk is an arabised word, likely borrowed from Persian, and originally referred to “ bread ” or “ dry bread .”

Meanwhile, the English word cake comes from Old Norse kaka — a completely different linguistic family.

So the similarity is just coincidence, not a shared origin.

Another reminder on importance to base conclusions on knowledge, not assumptions!