Borrowed from German Marzipan, from Italian marzapane, Venetan marzapane. Believed to be, with influence from pane (“bread”), derived from Arabic مَرْطَبَان (marṭabān, “spice box”) which comes from the name of a Burmese port known for its spice exports, Martaban, now called in Burmese မုတ္ထမ (muthta.ma.).