Aubergine derives from a Sanskrit word meaning the vegetable that prevents farting or, more literally, the vegetable that cures the wind disorder. The Sanskrit name, pronounced vatinganah was bestowed upon the plant because it was believed to have a carminative effect upon the digestive system. Vatinganah was then borrowed by Persians as badingan, which in turn was borrowed by Arabic as al-badinjan, the al simply being the Arabic definite article meaning the. The Arabic name then became the Spanish alberengena, which French adopted as aubergine in the early seventeenth century. Finally in the {eighteenth century}, the French name of the plant was adopted by the English, who might have stuck with the name eggplant had they known the actual meaning of aubergine.

- "Cupboard Love: A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities" By Mark Morton