طرخون

Arabic

طَرْخُون

Etymology

From Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion, “edder-wort, Dracunculus vulgaris”, a plant with similar leaves, confused in pharmacopoeiae as both plants were not everywhere available), from δράκων (drákōn, “dragon, serpent”) relating to the shape of its leaves.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tˤar.xuːn/

Noun

طَرْخُون • (ṭarḵūn) m

1. tarragon, estragon (Artemisia dracunculus, growing plant and processed form)

   Synonym: (transmitted by old lexicographers) رُعْلُول (ruʕlūl)

   • 1025, ابن سينا [Avicenna], القانون في الطب [Canon Medicinae]:

     طرخون‏:‏ الماهية‏:‏ هو معروف قالوا‏:‏ أن عاقر قرحا هو أصل الطرخون الجبلي‏.‏
     الطبع‏:‏ الظاهر أنه حار يابس إلى الثانية وإن كانت فيه قوة مخدرة‏.‏
     وقال بعض من لا يعتمد عليهِ‏:‏ إنه حار يابس‏.‏
     الخواص‏:‏ هو يجفف الرطوبات منشف لها وفيه تبريد ما نافع‏.‏
     أعضاء النفس‏:‏ يحدث وجع الحلق‏.‏
     أعضاء الغذاء‏:‏ عسر الهضم‏.‏
     أعضاء النفض‏:‏ يقطع شهوة الباه‏.‏

     Estragon: The quality: Well known, the say: That the Mount Atlas daisy is the root of the mountain estragon.
     The nature: It appears hot and dry in the second grade, perchance of anesthetizing power.
     Some who do not rely upon it say: It is hot and dry.
     The peculiarities: It dries moistures, cleansing them, and there is a nice cooling effect.
     Personal body parts: It causes ache of the throat.
     Eating body parts: Hardship of digestion.
     Beating organs: It cuts libido.

   • c. 1200, يحيى بن محمد بن أحمد بن العوام [yaḥyā ibn muḥammad ibn ʔaḥmad ibn al-ʕawwām], edited by José Antonio Banqueri, كتاب الفلاحة [Book on Agriculture], volume 2, Madrid: Imprenta Real, published 1802^IA, Cap. 30, Art. 14, page 388:

     الثمرا هي من أنواع الشبرم وفي كتاب ابن سينا الشبرم ينبت في البساتين له قصب دقيق مستو ذو زغب وورق كورق الطرخون فيما أفدر وله لين

     The ṯamrā is a type of spurge and in Avicenna’s book the spurge grows in gardens and has tender and even sticks of down and leaves like the leaves of tarragon but larger and it is supple.

Declension

Declension of noun طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn)

Singular	basic singular triptote
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	طَرْخُون ṭarḵūn	الطَّرْخُون aṭ-ṭarḵūn	طَرْخُون ṭarḵūn
Nominative	طَرْخُونٌ ṭarḵūnun	الطَّرْخُونُ aṭ-ṭarḵūnu	طَرْخُونُ ṭarḵūnu
Accusative	طَرْخُونًا ṭarḵūnan	الطَّرْخُونَ aṭ-ṭarḵūna	طَرْخُونَ ṭarḵūna
Genitive	طَرْخُونٍ ṭarḵūnin	الطَّرْخُونِ aṭ-ṭarḵūni	طَرْخُونِ ṭarḵūni

Descendants

• Andalusian Arabic: طرخون
• → Middle Armenian: թարխուն (tʻarxun), տարղօն (tarġōn), թարղօն (tʻarġōn), տարխոն (tarxon), տարղուն (tarġun), տարղոն (tarġon)
  • Armenian: թարխուն (tʻarxun)
• → Azerbaijani: tərxun
• → Georgian: ტარხუნა (ṭarxuna)
• → Byzantine Greek: ταρχόν (tarkhón), τραχόν (trakhón)
  • → Bulgarian: та́рос (táros), та́рхос (tárhos), та́рхус (tárhus), та́рус (tárus)
    • → Macedonian: тарос (taros)
  • → Serbo-Croatian: (isolated)

    Cyrillic script: тркос

    Latin script: trkos

• → Medieval Latin: tarhon, tarchon, tarcon, altarcon, tragon, tragum, dragon, dragum
  • → Danish: dragon, dragun
  • → Middle French: targon, dragon, estargon, estragon
    • French: estargon, estragon (see there for further descendants)
    • → Middle Dutch: *dragon
      • Dutch: dragon
    • → English: tarragon
      • → Serbo-Croatian:

        Cyrillic script: тарагон

        Latin script: taragon

    • → German: Dragon, Dragun, Drachant, Drach, Trach
      • → Polish: draganek
  • → Hungarian: tárkony
    • → Serbo-Croatian: (isolated)

      Cyrillic script: таркањ

      Latin script: tarkanj

  • → Irish: dragan
  • → Italian: targone, dragone
  • → Manx: dragane
  • → Swedish: dragon
    • → Finnish: rakuuna
• → Persian: ترخون (tarxun)
• → Russian: тарху́н (tarxún)
  • → Ukrainian: тарху́н (tarxún)
• → Ottoman Turkish: طرخون (tarhun, tarhon)
  • Turkish: tarhun
  • → Aromanian: tãrhúne
  • → Bulgarian: тарху́н (tarhún) (regional)
  • → Macedonian: тархун (tarhun) (regional)
  • → Romanian: tarhón
  • → Serbo-Croatian: tarhun (isolated in Bosnia)

References

• Freytag, Georg (1835) “طرخون”, in Lexicon arabico-latinum praesertim ex Djeuharii Firuzabadiique et aliorum Arabum operibus adhibitis Golii quoque et aliorum libris confectum‎^[1] (in Latin), volume 3, Halle: C. A. Schwetschke, page 47
• Langkavel, Bernhard (1866) Botanik der späteren Griechen vom dritten bis dreizehnten Jahrhunderte (in German), Berlin: F. Berggold, page 73

Ottoman Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic طَرْخُون (ṭarḵūn), itself from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion).

Pronunciation

• (standard) IPA^(key): [tɑrˈhun]
• (vulgarly also) IPA^(key): [tɑrˈhon]

Noun

طرخون • (tarhun, tarhon)

1. tarragon, estragon (Artemisia dracunculus)

   Synonyms: استراغون (estragon), رعلول (ruʿlul)

2. costmary, alecost (Tanacetum balsamita)

Derived terms

• طرخونجی (tarhuncu, “seller or eater of tarragon”)

Descendants

• Turkish: tarhun
• → Aromanian: tãrhúne
• → Bulgarian: тарху́н (tarhún) (regional)
• → Macedonian: тархун (tarhun) (regional)
• → Romanian: tarhón
• → Serbo-Croatian: tarhun (isolated in Bosnia)

Further reading

• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007) “tarhun”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 1, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 4609
• Kélékian, Diran (1911) “طرخون”, in Dictionnaire turc-français‎^[2], Constantinople: Mihran, page 803
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1687) “Dracunculus hortensis”, in Complementum thesauri linguarum orientalium, seu onomasticum latino-turcico-arabico-persicum, simul idem index verborum lexici turcico-arabico-persici, quod latinâ, germanicâ, aliarumque linguarum adjectâ nomenclatione nuper in lucem editum‎^[3], Vienna, column 432
• Meninski, Franciszek à Mesgnien (1680) “طرخون”, in Thesaurus linguarum orientalium, Turcicae, Arabicae, Persicae, praecipuas earum opes à Turcis peculiariter usurpatas continens, nimirum Lexicon Turkico-Arabico-Persicum‎^[4], Vienna, column 3097
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “tarhun”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Redhouse, James W. (1890) “طرخون”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon‎^[5], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 1236