אזדרכת (izdarakhet) — chinaberry tree
Etymology
The Hebrew name אזדרכת for the chinaberry tree (Melia azedarach) is borrowed directly from the Arabic name for the tree, אַזְדִרַחְת (azdirakhta). The Arabic word is itself borrowed from Persian אַזַאדַרַחְת (azad-darakhta), a compound meaning "noble tree" or "free tree" (azad = noble/free; darakhta = tree).
The chinaberry tree is an ornamental tree common throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean, known for its purple flowers and poisonous yellow berries. Its scientific Latin name Melia azedarach reflects the same Persian/Arabic origin: azedarach is simply a Latinization of the Arabic-Persian name.
The word exemplifies one of the productive patterns in Modern Hebrew botanical vocabulary: trees and plants that had no Biblical or Talmudic Hebrew name were often assigned names borrowed from Arabic, since Arabic nomenclature preserved ancient Semitic botanical vocabulary and also reflected the actual flora of the Land of Israel. Other examples include הַבּוּקִיצָה (from Arabic buqitza).
The column from which this entry derives (on Hebrew tree names) surveys the complex landscape of Hebrew botanical vocabulary: trees from the Bible whose identities are certain (cedar, willow, pomegranate, fig); trees whose biblical names were reassigned to different species (e.g., the biblical עַרְמוֹן is actually a plane tree, but Rashi's commentary led to the name being applied to chestnut); trees whose names come from Talmudic Aramaic (דֹּלֶב, the plane tree, from Aramaic dulba); trees named after European botanists (אַלְבִּיצִיָּה, בּוֹהִינִיָּה, פְּלוּמֵרִיָּה, מַגְנוֹלִיָּה); and trees that acquired popular Hebrew nicknames (פּוֹינְצִיַּאנָה → צֶאֱלוֹן; יָקָרַנְדָּה → סִגָּלוֹן).
Key Quotes
Arabic: אַזְדִרַחְת — Persian: אַזַאדַרַחְת ("noble/free tree")
Timeline
- Antiquity: Persian azad-darakhta names the chinaberry tree
- Medieval period: Arabic adopts and adapts the name as azdirakhta
- Modern period: Hebrew botanical vocabulary borrows the Arabic name as אזדרכת
- 18th century: European botanists systematize tree nomenclature; Melia azedarach becomes the scientific name, reflecting the Persian-Arabic origin
Related Words
- בּוּקִיצָה — another Hebrew tree name borrowed from Arabic (buqitza)
- דֹּלֶב — plane tree; name from Talmudic Aramaic, itself from Akkadian
- אֵקָלִיפְּטוּס — eucalyptus; Greek botanical name coined 1788