חַרְצִית

The word "חַרְצִית" (chartzit) was coined by the Hebrew Language Committee in 1913 as a Hebraization of the Latin name Chrysanthemum. This name comes from Greek and is composed of two words: χρυσός (chrysos, "gold") and ἄνθεμον (anthemon, "flower"), meaning "golden flower," referring to the golden color of the original varieties of this flower. Interestingly, the Greek word for gold, "chrysos," is probably borrowed from one of the Semitic languages, perhaps Phoenician, in which gold was called "charatz." This Semitic word for gold also appears in the Bible, for example in Proverbs (16:16): "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver." From the biblical word "חָרוּץ" (charutz, a term for gold), the Hebrew Language Committee coined the name of the flower "chartzit." This created an interesting situation where the Hebrew name "chartzit" and the Latin scientific name of the flower, Chrysanthemum, are actually based on the same ancient Semitic root.