valerian

See also: Valerian and valerían

English

A valerian plant in bloom.

Etymology

From Old French valeriane or Medieval Latin valeriāna, a reinterpretation of what is found as German Baldrian after valēre (“to be powerful”) or also the gentilic name Valerius, which is seemingly borrowed in the Dark Age period from the late 6^th to early 8^th century from Turkic or Proto-Mongolic, when the Pannonian Avars were direct neighbours to the Germans, notably also present in Hungarian bojtorján (“burdock”), ultimately from Proto-Mongolic, reflected as
Middle Mongol ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷᠭᠠᠨ᠎ᠠ (balčirɣan-a, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷ (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix ᠭᠠᠨᠠ (-ɣana),
Mongolian балчиргана (balčirgana, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as балчир (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix -гана (-gana).

See Ottoman Turkish بالدران (baldıran, “hemlock”) for Turkic cognates.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /vəˈlɪəɹɪən/
• Homophone: Valyrian

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

valerian (countable and uncountable, plural valerians)

1. A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers.
   • 1936, Rollo Ahmed, The Black Art, London: Long, page 112:

     In the event of anyone wishing to invoke the very Prince of Spirits, the following ingredients were prescribed to be burnt - Juice of Hypericon, Saffron, Artemisia, and the root of Valerian.

2. More generally, any plant of the genus Valeriana.
3. (uncountable) The root of Valeriana officinalis, used in herbal medicine.
4. An extract of the dried roots of the Valeriana officinalis used in herbal medicine as a sedative.

Synonyms

• (Valeriana officinalis): allheal, cat thyme

Derived terms

• red valerian

 

Translations

Valeriana officinalis

• Arabic: نَارْدِين m (nārdīn), نَارَدِين m (nāradīn), حَشِيشَةُ الْقَطَّة f (ḥašīšatu l-qaṭṭa), سُنْبُل رُومِيّ m (sunbul rūmiyy)
• Azerbaijani: pişikotu
• Bulgarian: диля́нка f (diljánka), валериа́на (bg) f (valeriána), ко́тешка би́лка f (kóteška bílka)
• Catalan: valeriana f
• Czech: kozlík lékařský (cs) m, kozlík (cs) m, baldrián (cs) m, odolen m
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: rohtovirmajuuri (fi)
• French: valériane (fr) f
• Galician: brizo (gl) m, verliá f, verliana f
• Georgian: კატაბალახა (ḳaṭabalaxa), ვალერიანი (valeriani)
• German: Baldrian (de) m, Katzenbaldrian m
• Hebrew: שִׁבֹּלֶת רֹומִיית f (šibbṓleṯ rōmīṯ) (Medieval calque from Arabic), וָלֶרְיָאן m (wāleryān)
• Hungarian: orvosi macskagyökér (hu)
• Irish: caorthann corraigh m
• Italian: valeriana (it) f
• Korean: 넓은잎쥐오줌풀 (neolbeunipjwiojumpul), 서양쥐오줌풀 (seoyangjwiojumpul)
• Macedonian: валеријана f (valerijana)
• Manx: kere hallooin f, kere lheannagh f
• Mongolian: бамбай (mn) (bambaj)
• Occitan: valeriana f
• Persian: سنبل طیب (sonbol-e tib), علف گربه ('alaf-e gorbe)
• Piedmontese: valerian-a f
• Polish: kozłek (pl) m, odolan m, baldrian m (obsolete)
• Portuguese: valeriana (pt) f
• Romanian: valeriană (ro) f, odolean (ro) m
• Russian:

  1708: одолѣ́нь m (odolě́nʹ), одолѣ́й m (odolě́j), одолѣ́я f (odolě́ja)

  1918: одоле́нь m (odolénʹ), одоле́й m (odoléj), одоле́я f (odoléja), валериа́на (ru) f (valeriána), валерья́на (ru) f (valerʹjána)

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Bosnian: mȁčkina tráva f, mȁčkova tráva f, mȁčina tráva f, mȁcina tráva f

  Cyrillic: одо̀љен, валерија́на f

  Latin: odòljen (sh), valerijána (sh) f,

• Slovak: odolen m, valeriána (sk) f, kozlík m, baldrián (sk) m
• Slovene: odolȋn m, báldrijan m, špajka f
• Spanish: valeriana (es) f
• Swedish: please add this translation if you can
• Tagalog: baleryana
• Tatar: песи үләне (pesi üläne)
• Turkish:

  Modern Turkish: kedi otu (tr)

  Ottoman Turkish: كدی اوتی (kedi otu)

• Turkmen: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: одоля́н m (odolján), валеріа́на (uk) f (valeriána)
• Uzbek: please add this translation if you can
• Walloon: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: triaglog m

plant of the genus Valeriana

• Finnish: virmajuuri (fi)
• German: Baldrian (de) m
• Hungarian: macskagyökér (hu)
• Korean: 쥐오줌풀 (jwiojumpul)
• Russian: валериа́на (ru) (valeriána), валерья́на (ru) (valerʹjána)

valerian root

• Finnish: rohtovirmajuuren juuri
• German: Baldrianwurzel (de) f
• Korean: 길초근 (gilchogeun), 발레리안 (ballerian)
• Persian: ذوله (zule), زوله (zule)

extract

• Bulgarian: валериан m (valerian)
• Finnish: valeriaana (fi)
• German: Baldrianextrakt m
• Russian: валерья́на (ru) f (valerʹjána), валерья́нка (ru) f (valerʹjánka)

Anagrams

• Ravelian