Adheher
Adheher arabice squinantum.
Apparatus:
Adheher ACH f | Adhecher B | Adhechar ms. e | adhcher p | ADhẹḅer j
{It is possible that ms. p shows the original transcription which is very close to the Arabic word form: Adhcher, and this unusual consonantal letter accumulation was interpreted by the scribes as –dheh-}.
Squinantum (-tum f) AH f | squinantum (-tũ B) BC j | scquinãtuʒ ms. e | squinãtũ p
Translation:
Adheher is Arabic for Latin squinantum {"camel grass"}.
Commentary:
Adheher:
Cf. Siggel (1950: 12): ﺇﺫﺧﺮ /iḏḫir/, ﺇﺩﺧﺮ /idḫir/ Andropogon Schoenanthus (Gram.), Diosk.: σχοῖνος/ skhoĩnos/.
A vocalisation closer to Simon’s form is found in Karbstein (2002: 39, 49, 274), s.v. Bartgrass, Kamelheu {i.e. camel grass, camel's hay}: ﺍﺩﺧﺮ /adḫar/, a form that was still used in Spain in the early 17th c. by the Morisco community. Cf. Karbstein (2002: 49) ﺍﺩﺧﺮ ﻭﺗﺒﻨﻰ ﻣﻜﺔ ﻋﺠﻤﻴﺔ ﺍﺷﻜﻨﻧﺖ /adḫar wa-tabnī makkah ʕağamīya iškinanti/ - "adḫar and tabnī makkah (lit. straw from Mecca} is in Romance iškinanti. /iškinanti/, also Karbstein (2002: 39, 274) /aškinanti/, = Spanish/Portuguese esquenanto, Catalan esquinant < schoenanthus.
Botanical identification:
Cf. Lane (1984: 956): ﺇﺫﺧﺮ {/iḏḫir/} [A kind of sweet rush; juncus odoratus; or schoenanthum], a certain plant … or herb … , well known … etc. in form resembling the ﻛﻮﻻﻥ {/kaulān, kūlān/} [or papyrus-plant], … sweet smelling … or of pungent odour … which, when it dries, becomes white" etc.
According to Siggel and Karbstein it is identified as Cymbopogon schoenanthus (L.) Spreng., syn. Andropogon schoenanthus L. (Gram.), [[1]], [[2]].
WilfGunther 30/012014
For further information see Sqinantum.
