wootz
A type of steel from India, much admired for making sword blades.
countable, uncountable
The celebrated wootz or steel of India, made in little cakes of only about two pounds weight, possesses qualities which no European steel can surpass.
Where it comes from
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, probably from a misreading of wook, an English transcription of (the root of) Kannada ಉಕ್ಕು (ukku),ಉರ್ಕು (urku, “steel”), Telugu ఉక్కు (ukku, “steel”); akin to Tamil உருகு (uruku, “to melt”) and உருக்கு (urukku, “melted thing, steel”).
Adapted from the Wiktionary entry wootz (CC BY-SA 4.0).