The Story of Mascara

When you see mascara do you think “maskhara”? Well, you are not too mistaken if you do: that is the Arabic origin of the word! Most etymological dictionaries trace the English word back to Spanish mascara or Italian maschera, meaning mask, indicating a connection with makeup (and, similarly, in Portuguese mascara means mask). Some dictionaries go a step further, tracing it from there back to its Arabic origin.

 Arabic maskhara refers to someone or something that is ridiculous, or to mockery. Interestingly, in both Urdu and Hindi the word means clown. In Pashto it means funny or ridiculous; in Persian, mockery; and apparently, in Swahili, to mock or scoff.

 One Standard Arabic word for mascara is actually kohl, not mascara; the latter tends to be used more in spoken colloquial Arabic, as if it is borrowed from English. Technically, it may be argued that the two words are not synonymous: the first is used more for eyeliners while the latter is generally used for lash makeup. Merriam Webster defines kohl as “a preparation used especially in Arabia and Egypt to darken the edges of the eyelids” although various sources indicate that in ancient times kohl was used for lashes and eyebrows as well as eyelids. Similarly, various sources trace alcohol back to al-kohl (or al-kuhul) as indicated in my previous blog post – but that is another story.

 In Arabic, al-kohl was originally used to refer to the fine powder used for makeup, and in English it also referred to the powder in earlier times. The word was later used to refer to alcohol the liquid since the formation of kohl through vaporization involves a process similar to that of alcohol formation.

Most sources see eye to eye on all that.