Zacchar
Zacchar grece zucharum latine arabice suchar supra in .s.
Apparatus:
Whole entry missing in B efjp
Translation:
Zacchar is the Greek word, zucharum is Latin and suchar is Arabic. See also above under Suchar.
Commentary:
In ancient Greek literature the word for "sugar" appears in a variety of forms, LSJ mention: σάĸχαρ /sákkhar/, σάĸχαρι /sakkhari/, σάĸχαρις /sakkharis/ and σάĸχαρον /sakkharon/. This last Greek form was adopted into Latin as: saccharon, latinized saccharum. The ultimate source of the Greek word is thought to be Sanskrit śarkarā, which is also the ultimate source for Arabic sukkar, cf. Wehr (1976): ﺳﻛﺭ /sukkar/ "sugar". Although forms of saccharum survived into the Latin literature of the Middle Ages, the Arabic sukkar became the basis for a new word in most Western European languages, and a new Latin form was developed imitating the Arabic: zucarum, zuccarum, zuccara, zuccaris and other similar variants.
WilfGunther 04/03/12
See also: Suchar
