ζιγγίβερις

Forms

ζιγγίβερῐς (zingíberis) f (genitive ζιγγῐβέρεως); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Pali siṅgivera (“ginger”), a Middle Indic word, corresponding to Sanskrit शृङ्गवेर (śṛṅgavera), which is in turn from Tamil.^[2][3] Frisk considers the Sanskrit form probably a false Sanskritization.^[3] Wiktionary traces the Greek word through an unattested Middle Iranian form to Prakrit siṃgivera, and that to Old Tamil 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (iñcivēr), from 𑀇𑀜𑁆𑀘𑀺 (iñci) and 𑀯𑁂𑀭𑁆 (vēr, “root”).^[1] LSJ already suggested a South Asian name meaning “ginger root” behind the Sanskrit and Prakrit forms.^[4] The Sanskrit word has been explained as “horn-body”, from the shape of the root, but this may be a folk etymology.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the pharmacologist Dioscorides, for an Arabian spice plant whose root was used in medicine, probably ginger.^[4][2][6]

Semantic evolution

The word belongs to medical Greek: GLAUx finds it almost only in Dioscorides and Galen.^[6] The forms vary: Dioscorides and Galen have the neuter ζιγγίβερι, and Diocletian's price edict has ζιγγίβερις as masculine and feminine.^[4][2]

From it came Latin zingiberi, whence French gingembre, and through Late Latin gingiber and Old English the English word ginger.^[2][5][1] In medieval vernacular Greek the plant appears as ζιγγίβερις or ζιτζίβερις (zitzíveris), still as a medicinal root.^[7] Later Greek forms include Modern Greek ζιγγίβερι (zingíveri) and ζιντζίβερ (zintzíver).^[1]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Dioscorides describes the plant and its root in his Materia Medica.^[4][6][8]
• 2nd century AD – Galen uses it often in his pharmacological works.^[4][6][8]
• 11th century – Old English has the word, borrowed from Latin.^[5]
• 1100–1669 – Medieval vernacular Greek uses the form ζιτζίβερις (zitzíveris).^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. An Arabian spice plant whose root was used in medicine, probably ginger.^[4][2][9]

Related words

• Latin zingiberi
• English ginger

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
4. ^ a b c d e f Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
7. ^ a b Kriaras, Emmanuel, Επιτομή του Λεξικού της μεσαιωνικής ελληνικής δημώδους γραμματείας 1100–1669, Κέντρο Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, https://www.greek-language.gr
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
9. ^ Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg