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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Sino-Iranica : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
THE BASIL 589
"Flora Orientalis" does not contain any Magnolia. The foreign name is apparently a compound, the second element of which, to-lo, is identical with the Indian-Chinese name of the basil, so that it is justifiable to suppose that the entire name denotes an Iranian variety of the basil or another member of the genus Ocimum.
The basil is styled in Middle Persian palangamudk, in New Persian palanmi§k, Arabic-Persian falanjmu. k, faranjmuTk, Abu Mansur: faranjamu.k (Armenian p`alangamu§k),1 the second element mink or mi. k meaning "musk," and the first component denoting anything of a motley color, like a panther or giraffe. The significance of the word, accordingly, is "spotted and musky." This definition is quite plausible, for the leaves of some basils are spotted. JOHN PARKINSON,2 discussing the various names of the basil, remarks, "The first is usually called Ocimum vulgare, or vulgatius, and Ocimum Citratum. In English, Common or Garden Basill. The other is called Ocimum minimum, or Gariophyllatum, Clove Basill, or Bush Basill. The last eyther of his place, or forme of his leaves, being spotted and curled, or all, is called Ocimum Indicum maculatum, latifolium and crispum. In English according to the Latine, Indian Basill, broade leafed Basill, spotted or curled Basill, which you please."3 The Arabic forms are phonetically developed from Persian palan; and it is somewhat surprising that R. Dozy4 explains Arabic faranjmuTk as "musk of the Franks," although he refers to the variants baranj and falanj.
While there is a certain resemblance between the Middle-Persian name and our Chinese transcription, I do not believe that the two can be identified. The Chinese calls for an initial sonant and a u-vowel; whereas the Iranian form, as positively corroborated by the Armenian loan-word, is possessed of an initial surd with following a. I am rather inclined to regard *bu-lan as a Sogdian word, and to derive it from Sogdian böôa, bMan (" perfume ") The name *bu-lan ra-lak would accordingly signify "aromatic basil" (corresponding to our "sweet basil"), the peculiar aroma being the prominent characteristic of the
1 HÜBSCHMANN, Armen. Gram., p. 254. According to others, this word would refer to Ocimum gratissimum, the shrubby basil, but practically this makes no difference, as the properties and employment of the herbs are the same.
a Paradisi in sole paradisus terrestris, p. 45o (London, 1629). The technical term of the botanists in describing the leaves is subtus punctata (G. BENTHAM, Labiatarum genera, p. 5; DE CANDOLLE, Prodromus, pars XII, p. 32).
LINNÉ (Species plantarum, Vol. I, p. 597, Holmiae, 1753) has Ocymum latifolium maculatum sive crispum.
a Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes, Vol. II, p. 262.
R. GAUTHIOT, Essai sur le vocalisme du sogdien, pp. 45, Io1, 102; F. W. K. MÜLLER, Handschriften-Reste in Estrangelo-Schrift, II, p. 35.
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