This name is as much of a mystery as the word “Suber” and its origin can only be guesswork. In the opinion of the writer it is the broadening of the first syllable of the word “Quercus” and has no bearing upon its usage, composition or lineage. Some dictionaries give other derivations, such as the mutilation of the Spanish “Corcho” or the French “Calk,” and others that it is taken from the Latin Cortex,[2] meaning the outer shell or husk, the external part, but they do not present any convincing argument.

The meaning of the word “cork” as applied to-day is derived from the Arabic “Kalafa,” to stop the seams of ships; the Latin “Stipo,” to suppress; the French, “Calfeutrer,” to stop. But these do not bear upon the origin of the word “cork,” as in all probability the word was coined independent of these sources, but as we apply the word to a definite act, that of “stopping,” the definition as given above is applicable, although the proper name would be “stopper,” regardless of what material it is made. It is therefore plain that the word “cork” is a Latin phonetic abbreviation, for it appears to be the only logical root for the word.The cork tree is called “Alcornoque” in Castilian language; Surn in Castalan; Sobreiro, Gallician; Suvi y Sioure in provincialism; ChÊne LiÈge in French; Keonge fernam or only fernam, in Argeline; Kork-baum or Korkeiche in German; and, as before stated, cork in English. [3]