Rhodafni
Rhodafni liber de doctrina greca est rosa greca lorandum et cetera. Est autem eius expositio rosea laurus, nam est conpositum ex rodon quod est rosa et daphnis quod est laurus ab Avicenna vocatur oleander a Dyascoride. nerio supra in ne. Plinius rododendros nomen quod apud nos invenitur latinum rododafnen vocant aut nerion et cetera. Stephanus rododafni de fela pro defle nam sic arabice.
Apparatus:
de fela ACD | defela B
Translation:
Rhodafni, in the liber de doctrina greca it is called rosa greca {"Greek rose"}, lorandrum, etc. Its Latin translation is rosea laurus {i.e. "rose laurel"} because the Greek word is a compound of rodon, Latin rosa {"rose"}, and daphnis which is laurus {"laurel"}. The plant is called oleander by Avicenna, nerio by Dyascorides, as is mentioned in the entry Nereo above. Pliny says: rododendros is the Latin name found among us, people call it also rododafne or nerion. Rododafni is called by Stephanus Defela instead of Defle, which is the Arabic word for the plant.
Commentary:
ῥόδον /rhódon/ "rose"; δαφνίς /daphnís/ "bay-berry or bay-tree, laurel".
ροδάφνη /rhodáphnē/ - in its medieval Greek pronunciation /rodáfni/ - is a shortened vernacular form of ροδοδάφνη /rhododáphnē/. Its earliest attestation is possibly to be found in Latin transcription in Dioscorides Longobardus, 4, 78, ed. Stadler (1901: 44) De nerion, where it says: Nerion aut norodendron aut rodafni dicunt. - They call it {i.e. oleander} nerion or norodendron or rodafni". The word is also attested three times on the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae:
Poricologos, De fructibus (redactio A) Line 103, ed. Winterwerb (1992: 139-45).
Michael Apostolius Paroemiogr., Collectio paroemiarum. Centuria 2 section 21 line 30, ed. von Leutsch (1851: 233-744).
Acta Monasterii Lembiotissae Acta, Eccl. et Legal., Nicolaus Creticus et familia monasterio vendunt campum et ecclesiam (a. 1276). Line 11, ed. Miklosich & Müller (1871: 174)
In addition, it is attested in Ioannes archiatrus in chapter 222, 224, 248 and 252 of the ω version, ed. Zipser (2009). Moreover, it is attested in chapter 182 of the Alpha version, ed. Zipser (2009). Cf. Resources, John the Physician, Word list of Vernacular Greek.
Simon's quote is from Pliny, 24, 53, 90, ed. Rackham (1938-63: VII.66). In the course of its transmission this sentence changed some of its original meaning by losing the negative particle ne of the Plinean statement, because Pliny expressly comments on the strange fact that the Romans had no Latin name for this plant: Rhododendros ne nomen quidem apud nos invenit Latinum, rhododaphnen vocant aut nerium, which Jones (1938-63: VII.67) translates as "The rhododendros … has not even found a Latin name among the Romans, names for it being rhododaphne … or nerium …".
See also: Nereo
