شفلح
Arabic
Etymology
While the shape suggests a Hurrian plant name, the ending is rather part of an Aramaic root פ־ל־ח / ܦ-ܠ-ܚ (p-l-ḥ) (as in فَلَّاح (fallāḥ)) or פ־ר־ח / ܦ-ܪ-ܚ (p-r-ḥ), which have been used for plant capsules bursting open such as the developing caperberry does; Aramaic פׅרְחָא (pirḥā) / ܦܲܪܚܵܐ (parḥā) is specifically attested as meaning caper. Compare parallel developments in لَصَف (laṣaf, “caper”); and indeed عِتْر (ʿitr, “caper; Glossonema varians”) is from a root used for slit offerings. The leading syllable in the present Arabic word is the Proto-Semitic causative prefix *ša-.
Noun
شَفَلَّح • (šafallaḥ) m
- caper (Capparis spinosa and its produce)
- Synonyms: كَبَر (kabar), عِتْر (ʿitr), لَصَف (laṣaf)
Declension
Declension of noun شَفَلَّح (šafallaḥ)
| Singular | basic singular triptote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Definite | Construct | |
| Informal | شَفَلَّح šafallaḥ | الشَّفَلَّح aš-šafallaḥ | شَفَلَّح šafallaḥ |
| Nominative | شَفَلَّحٌ šafallaḥun | الشَّفَلَّحُ aš-šafallaḥu | شَفَلَّحُ šafallaḥu |
| Accusative | شَفَلَّحًا šafallaḥan | الشَّفَلَّحَ aš-šafallaḥa | شَفَلَّحَ šafallaḥa |
| Genitive | شَفَلَّحٍ šafallaḥin | الشَّفَلَّحِ aš-šafallaḥi | شَفَلَّحِ šafallaḥi |
References
- Löw, Immanuel (1928) Die Flora der Juden (in German), volume 1, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, pages 322–331
- Löw, Immanuel (1881) Aramæische Pflanzennamen (in German), Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, pages 262–265, especially 264
- Mandaville, James Paul (2011) Bedouin Ethnobotany. Plant Concepts and Uses in a Desert Pastoral World, Tuscon: University of Arizona Press, →ISBN, page 277