linguistic:voice_change
Etymology

The name derives from Arabic: تمر هندي, romanized tamr hindi, "Indian date ". Several early medieval herbalists and physicians wrote tamar indi, medieval Latin use was tamarindus, and Marco Polo wrote of tamarandi.

In Colombia, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Italy, Spain, and throughout the Lusosphere, it is called tamarindo. In those countries it is often used to make the beverage of the same name (or agua de tamarindo). In the Caribbean, tamarind is sometimes called tamón.

Countries in Southeast Asia like Indonesia call it asam jawa (Javanese sour fruit) or simply asam, and sukaer in Timor. While in the Philippines, it is called sampalok or sampaloc in Filipino, and sambag in Cebuano. Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) is sometimes confused with "Manila tamarind" (Pithecellobium dulce). While in the same taxonomic family Fabaceae, Manila tamarind is a different plant native to Mexico and known locally as guamúchili.