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Spanish guy here. The standard name is cilantro, used for both the seeds and the leaves. The Mexicans got the name from us, not the other way :P

However, I have seen the opposite situation, Mexican people calling the seeds "coriandro", probably due to USA influence.




I believe we in the US picked up the term "cilantro" for the leaves and "coriander" for the seeds from Mexico, not the other way around.

But I couldn't quickly find an online reference clarifying this either way. So I don't know.


Sorry, I wrote my comment early in the morning and I didn't explain myself clearly.

"Coriander" was the standard English word, and "cilantro" the standard Spanish word, way before the European arrival to the Americas.

My understanding is that American English got the word "cilantro" for the leaves from Mexican cuisine... and then Mexican Spanish did the opposite and took the word "coriandro" for the seeds from English, to differentiate between the leaves and the seeds. I don't know how common the word is though; I have never been to Mexico so don't take my word for it.

However, European English and Spanish still use just one word each. If you ask me, I will say "hojas de cilantro" (leaves) and "semillas de cilantro" (seeds). It is not so common in our cuisine, so there is no need to have different words.




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