'Sugar' travelled from India via Persia and Arabia to Europe.

Sanskrit 'śarkarā' meant gravel or grit. Along trade routes the word became Persian 'shakar', Arabic 'sukkar', medieval Latin 'succarum', Italian 'zucchero', German 'Zucker' and English 'sugar'. Spanish 'azúcar' even carries the fused Arabic article 'al-'. Such wanderwords trace the trade route of the product itself.

Useful: If a word sounds similar in many unrelated languages, it usually travelled with the goods.

Source: en.wiktionary.org

HandelWanderwortWortherkunft

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