henna

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic حِنَّاء (ḥinnāʾ), the Arabic name of the plant,^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The OED takes it as reaching English through several western European languages, and compares Middle French henné (about 1540), Italian henna (1548) and, with the Arabic definite article prefixed, Spanish alheña (end of the 15th century).^[3] Klein and Etymonline report that the Arabic word is said to be of Persian origin,^[6][7] and Wiktionary derives it, probably, from Middle Persian *hannāy- (“to smear, anoint”).^[1] The American Heritage Dictionary relates it to an Arabic verb meaning "to become green".^[5] The same Arabic word with the article gave Medieval Latin alchanna and Spanish alcana, the sources of alkanet;^[8][1] the English alcanna is recorded earlier than henna.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A dye made from the powdered leaves and shoots of the henna plant, used as a cosmetic: 1600, in J. Pory's translation of Leo Africanus' description of Africa.^[3][7] Barnhart dates the word to 1600 too, but in the sense of the shrub itself, the dye coming later.^[2][9] Etymonline notes that it first appears as henne, for a plant then thought to be a kind of privet.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word named both the dye (1600) and the plant it comes from (1662).^[3] In 1875 it was applied to other dyes that stain hair and skin dark brown or black, originally made from the leaves of the indigo plant.^[3] The colour of the dye, a deep reddish brown, is called henna from 1911.^[3] The verb, to dye with henna, is recorded from 1851,^[3] although Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1919;^[4] the participle hennaed is recorded from 1860 in Etymonline, from 1924 in Barnhart.^[7][9] Collins gives camphire as an archaic name for the plant and the dye.^[10]

Timeline

• 1600 – a dye made from the leaves of the henna plant.^[3][4]
• 1662 – the shrub Lawsonia inermis, from which the dye is made.^[3]
• 1851 – verb, to dye hair or skin with henna.^[3] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the verb to 1919.^[4]
• 1875 – any of several dark brown or black dyes for hair and skin.^[3]
• 1911 – the colour of henna, a deep reddish brown.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A reddish-brown dye made from the powdered leaves of a shrub, used to colour the hair and to decorate the skin and nails: She painted the bride's hands with henna.^[10][4][3]
2. The shrub or small tree Lawsonia inermis of North Africa and southern Asia, with fragrant white flowers, from which this dye comes.^[10][4][3]
3. A deep reddish-brown or rust colour.^[10][3]

Verb

1. To dye or stain with henna: He hennaed his beard before the festival.^[10][4][3]

Related words

• alkanet
• alcanna

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
9. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins