Talk:ալուճ

alūj

@Vahagn Petrosyan
I cannot find this word mentioned or used anywhere in Arabic (which would be أَلُوج (ʔalūj) – do not mistake الْوَجّ (al-wajj, “sweet flag”) for it!) or in transcription. And if there were such a word, it would need explanation itself. There is an قُلَلُجَّة (qulalujja) allegedly meaning Linaria vulgaris and other Linaria species, but this is Spanish colleja or the like (Dozy II 399, Simonet 122–123) and apart from questionable meaning (Leinkraut or Leimkraut?) only used in Al-Andalus. I do not think there has been any term for Linaria that has established itself. Vardanyan has probably fallen victim to a phantasy. Fay Freak (talk) 15:12, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

@Fay Freak, she cites Dehkhoda and which has Persian الوج (alūj), which must be the same as Persian alūj in Steingass. So perhaps the origin is Persian, not Arabic. --Vahag (talk) 15:59, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

@Vahagn Petrosyan Maybe also confused hawthorn and toadflax (or whoever claimed that first)? Well and the meaning “elecampane” (Steingass gives for Persian الوج (aluj)) is also off from both, these three plants are extremely dissimilar. Also the Persian Persian الوج (aluj, “elecampane”) is rare on first glance; the normal Persian words are in the translation table at elecampane – but whatever, elecampane is distinct from toadflax. Fay Freak (talk) 16:11, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

@Fay Freak, perhaps the identification with Linaria is incorrect. Is the meaning of Arabic muḵalliṣa certain? Bedevian glosses it as Linaria. --Vahag (talk) 16:54, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

@Vahagn Petrosyan I find nothing for مُخَلِّصَة (muḵalliṣa, “Linaria”). The web offers only a few Persian pages; common if a name is only a lore.

Only this revealing locus in André Miquel La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu’au milieu du 11e siècle. Le milieu naturel p. 421 about a muḵalliṣa “une linaire peut-être”, the plant which is said to be “jusque-là inconnu des gens du pays”, and the footnote notes that authors have failed to identify it.

As I said, Linaria probably has no old name. Why should it? Has it any use? I only find that it is a noxious weed. This is an indication that the identification of ալուճ (aluč) with it is wrong. Fay Freak (talk) 17:13, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

Allegedly it has rarely been found in pharmacies and occasionally used against inflammations but now is only employed by homeopaths. But there are few plants that do not have been assumed to have some effect, and homeopaths have used everything, maybe they have projected backwards. Here one gives a recipe for a tea, but there aren’t recipes for Leinkraut else. The site admits: “In der Volksmedizin führt das Leinkraut als Heilkraut eher ein Randdasein.” *Not gonna try this plant*. Fay Freak (talk) 17:26, 1 September 2019 (UTC)

Thanks. Since muḵalliṣa simply means "saving", it could have referred to any medicinal plant. I conclude that the word is from the Persian alūj, whatever it meant. --Vahag (talk) 18:17, 1 September 2019 (UTC)