אַרְטִישׁוֹק (artishok) — artichoke

Etymology

The artichoke's name has one of the most linguistically complex journeys of any vegetable name. The plant's ancient Hebrew name may have been דַּרְדַּר (dardar, a thistly plant), though this cannot be confirmed. In the Talmudic era, the Greek name קִנְרָס (kinras) was used. Later, in the Gaonic period, the Persian name כַּנְגָּר (kangar) was used, and eventually the Arabic name חֻרְשָׁף (hurshaf) became standard.

When Arabic rulers governed Spain (Al-Andalus), the Arabic definite article "al-" was attached to the plant's name, and "al-hurshaf" became the Spanish "alcachofa" (and later "alcarchofa"). This Spanish-Arabic form was apparently what Spanish Jews called the vegetable in the 14th century, when they used it as a bitter herb (maror) at their Passover seders — we know this from illustrations in Haggadot of the period. After the expulsion of Spanish Jews in 1492, the refugees apparently brought the word to Italy, where the artichoke became strongly associated with Jews. The Italian form evolved into "articiocco" (replacing the older Latin botanical name cactus, which Linnaeus later reassigned to American cacti).

From Italian, the word spread to Germany as "Artischoke" and to England as "artichoke." In 1788, the influential Hebrew educational book "Reshit Limudim" by Baruch Linda used the Hebrew form אַרְטִישׁוֹק for the German word.

In the early 20th century, when Jewish farmers began growing artichokes in Eretz Israel and needed a Hebrew name, there was significant competition. Agricultural teacher Isser Yosef Einhorn promoted כַּנְגָר; farmer Shmuel Cohen Lipshitz used קִנְרֵס; agriculturalist Eliezer Yaffe championed כִּנָּר (apparently mistaking the Persian name for a native Hebrew one). A 1927 German-Hebrew dictionary listed four options: קנר, כנר, קנרס, וחרשף. In 1930, the Language Committee approved two options: קִנְרֵס or חֻרְשָׁף.

Through the 1930s–1960s, all these names appeared in the press interchangeably — largely because artichokes were not widely eaten or grown in Israel. This changed dramatically in 1963 when Abla Mzawi from Nazareth won the first "Kitchen Queen" competition with her recipe for artichokes stuffed with lamb. Writer Dan Ben-Amotz wrote enthusiastically about "charshhaf" in Al HaMishmar, noting it grew wild and could become a popular food. He was right: the resulting demand convinced farmers to cultivate it commercially from 1964 onward, and it was sold in markets as "artishok." The alternative names survived only as crossword puzzle answers.

The column also explains the "Jerusalem artichoke" (which is neither an artichoke nor from Jerusalem): it is an unrelated root vegetable from North America, brought to Europe in 1617 and grown in Rome's Farnese botanical garden. Italians called it "girasole articocco" (artichoke sunflower) because of its flavor. When taken to England, "girasole" was misheard as "Jerusalem," and the earliest English record (Tobias Venner's "Via Recta ad Vitam Longam," 1620) already calls it "Artichocks of Jerusalem." Hebrew marketers chose to use this English name rather than the official Hebrew name "hamanit hapkaot" (tuber sunflower) when selling it in the 1990s.

Key Quotes

(No direct quotes from the column appear in the standard format; the column is narrative throughout)

Timeline

• Ancient: Plant possibly called דרדר in biblical Hebrew
• Talmudic era: Greek name קִנְרָס used
• Gaonic period: Persian name כַּנְגָּר used
• Medieval: Arabic name חֻרְשָׁף becomes standard
• 14th century: Spanish Jews use it as Passover bitter herb (maror); illustrated in Haggadot
• Post-1492: Spanish Jewish exiles bring the Arabic-Spanish name to Italy
• Italian period: becomes associated with Jews; name evolves to "articiocco"
• Spreads to Germany (Artischoke) and England (artichoke)
• 1617: Jerusalem artichoke brought to Europe from North America
• 1620: First English record of "Artichocks of Jerusalem" (Tobias Venner)
• 1788: Baruch Linda uses Hebrew form אַרְטִישׁוֹק in "Reshit Limudim"
• Early 1900s: Competition among Hebrew names: קנגר, קנרס, כנר, חרשף
• 1930: Language Committee approves קִנְרֵס or חֻרְשָׁף as official names
• 1930s–1960s: All competing names used interchangeably in press
• 1963: Abla Mzawi wins kitchen competition with stuffed artichoke; demand spikes
• 1964: Commercial cultivation begins; markets sell it as "artishok"
• 1990s: Jerusalem artichoke sold using English name rather than Hebrew "hamanit hapkaot"

Related Words

• חֻרְשָׁף — the Arabic-derived Hebrew name (still used occasionally, especially in crosswords)
• קִנְרֵס — the Talmudic Greek-derived name (occasionally used, especially in crosswords)
• כַּנְגָּר — the Persian-derived name (rare today)
• אַרְטִישׁוֹק יְרוּשַׁלְמִי — Jerusalem artichoke (unrelated plant; name is a corruption of Italian "girasole")