Note 26 — II MEDIEVAL AND MODERN HISTORY OF PEARLS
Reading edition
Analogous to the uniform European word for this gem, is the extension of the Sanskrit form, mukta, from Persia to the Sulu Islands. In Tamil, the word for pearl is mootthoo; in Hindustani, it is mootie; in Cingalese, mootoo; and in Malay, mutya or mootara. (Ainslie, “Materia Indica,” London, 1826, Vol. I, pp. 292–297.)