In English, the fruit is known as kaffir lime (also transliterated "kieffer lime") or makrut lime (magrood lime). The Oxford Companion to Food [6] recommends that the term "makrut lime" be favored over "kaffir lime" because Kaffir is an offensive term in some cultures and has no contemporary justification for being attached to this plant. The etymology of the name "kaffir lime" is uncertain, but most likely was used by Muslims as a reference to the location the plant grew, which was populated by non-Muslims. The Arabic word for non-Muslims is Kafir.[7]