 That may have been from medieval Latin "baurach" (another English spelling), "borac(-/um/em), borax", along with Spanish "borrax" (> "borraj") and Italian "borrace", in the 9th century.Another name for borax is tincal, from Sanskrit.The word "tincal" "tinkle", or "tincar" "tinker", refers to crude borax, before it is purified, as mined from lake deposits in Tibet, Persia, and other parts of Asia.