Haiaelem

Haiaelem arabice semperviva Stephanus helelealem scripsit.

Apparatus:

Haiaelem A | Heiahelem C | Heiaelez B {"long z" misinterpreted as "sideways m"} | Heiahelein f {'em' misread as 'ein'} | Heiachelem ms. e

semperuiua (-per C ef) AC ef | sẽperuia B

helelealeʒ (-alẽ A) AC | el elchaclẽ B | heleca Halem f | helele abilem {all witnesses misread 'hei' as 'hel'}

Translation:

Haiaelem is Arabic for semperviva. Stephanus writes helelealem.

Commentary:

Wehr: ﺣﻳﻰ /ḥaiy/ "living, live, alive", ﺣﻳﻰ ﺍﻟﻌﺎﻟﻡ /ḥaiy al-ʕālam/ "houseleek tree (Sempervivum arboreum L.; bot.)"; ﻋﺎﻟﻡ /ʕālam/ "world, universe, cosmos".

The expected transcription by Simon would have been something like *heialh(a)alem, but the word has suffered serious corruption in most witnesses.

Cf. Stephanus in his Breviarium has: aizoõ … semper uiua … hei elmaalem {misread < hei alhaalem?} [[1]].

Botanical identification:

Sempervivum arboreum L., nowadays Aoenium arboreum (L.) Webb & Berth. [[2]], [[3]], [[4]] is a native of North Africa but it can become naturalized in adjacent European Mediterranean countries. It is a succulent that can grow up to a height of 1 m.

WilfGunther 25/11/13

See also: Ayzon, Iovis barba, Semperviva

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