Cathilhabiheb

From Simon Online
Jump to: navigation, search

Cathilhabiheb arabice est dictu strangulator patris sui et est arbustum quod describit Serapio quod vocatur ficus lupi, apud Dyascoridem comarus.


Apparatus:

Catil abich f | Catillabich p | Catillabith j ('catịị̣'- is corrected to 'catill'-} | Cathil abich ms. e | Catil abith B {'c' misread as 't'} | Cathilhabiheb AC {'hch' misread as 'heb' ??}

arabice est om. f

dictu ABC | dictum ejp | di~ f {= dicitur, Cappelli p. 97}

describit | descripsit f

quod vocatur ficus lupi ABC | cuius ficus lupi vocat~ fp | cuius vocatur ficus lupi ms. e | Λ lupi j {Λ sʒapio cuius vocat~ ficus(?) is added by a different hand at the right margin}

apud Dyascoridem comarus om. f

cormarus B ep | comatus AC j {'r' misread as 't'}


Translation:

Cathilhabiheb is Arabic for Latin strangulator patris sui {"strangler - better: killer - of its father"}, and it is a shrub, that Serapio describes and where it is called ficus lupi {"wolf's fig"}; and in Dyascorides it is called comarus.


Commentary:

A very similar text to this entry is found in the entry Katilabich.

Simon is referring to [Goehl] Serapio chapter 122: Ficus lupi, which opens: Katilabich est ficus lupi – "Katilabich is the 'wolf's fig'". The same text is also available online [[1]] Strasbourg edition (1531: 98): DE FICV LVPI CXXVII: Hatil adib est ficus lupi. N.b. Here the print setter mixed up *Hatil abich {"killer of its father"} with hatil adib "wolf's killer", a different plant altogether; see Cathiladhib, Katiladib.

For Simon's reference to Dyascorides see Comarus.

Katilabich: Arabic ﻗﺎﺗﻞ ﺍﺑﻴﻪ /qātil-abīhi/ means literally "killer of its father", cf. Siggel (1950: 57), who glosses it: Arbutus unedo (Ericac.), Erdbeerbaum {i.e. "strawberry tree"}.

Simon's translation into Latin as strangulator patris sui {"strangler of its father"} is somewhat imprecise, it should be "interfector patris sui, i.e "killer {of its father}"; in fact Simon offers this more precise translation in his entry Comarus.


Botanical identification:

Following Siggel's identification the plant is Arbutus unedo L., the "strawberry tree" [[2]]. Its strange vernacular name: "killer of its father" refers to the fact that this small tree's fruit matures in the autumn while at the same time its new flowers begin to bloom, i.e. the next generation arrives and is seen as killing off the father – i.e. the fruit [[3]].

WilfGunther 12:16, 24 July 2015 (BST)


See also: Comarus, Katilabich

Next entry