wootz

Etymology
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, probably from a misreading of wook, an English transcription of (the root of), ; akin to 🇨🇬 and.

Noun

 * 1) A type of steel from India, much admired for making sword blades.
 * 2) * 1863, 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. &mdash; Industrial Biography, Samuel Smiles, 1963.
 * 3) * 1884, The word first appears in 'Experiments and Observations to investigate the Nature of a Kind of Steel manufactured at Bombay, and there called Wootz,' ... By G. Pearson, M.D. (paper read before the Royal Soc., June 11, 1795). &mdash; Robert F. Burton, The Book of the Sword, page 110.

Usage notes
In earlier usage it appears as simply wootz (see quotations), later being referred to as wootz steel