ܟܫܘܬܐ

Classical Syriac

كُشُوت – Cuscuta epithymum

Etymology

Probably from כַּשָׁא / ܟܰܫܳܐ (kašā, “to pile up”) because of the jumbled fashion in which this parasitic plant climbs trees, else from Akkadian 𒃢 (SILA₄ /⁠kasû⁠/), a plant with many small seeds used for spice, fumigation and medicine, just like dodder species. Also Jewish Babylonian Aramaic כְּשׁוּתָא (kəšūṯā), Hebrew כְּשׁוּת (kəšūṯ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəʃuːθ/

Noun

ܟܫܽܘܬܳܐ • (kəšūṯā) f

1. dodder (Cuscuta gen. et spp., especially Cuscuta epithymum)

Descendants

• → Ancient Greek: καδύτας (kadútas), κασύτας (kasútas)
  • → Latin: cassytas, cassythas, cadytas
    • → Translingual: Cassytha
• → Arabic: كُشُوث (kušūṯ), كُشُوت (kušūt), كُشُوثَى (kušūṯā), كُشُوثَاء (kušūṯāʔ), كُشُوتاء (kušūtāʔ), أُكْشُوث (ʔukšūṯ), أُكْشُوت (ʔukšūt)
  • → Medieval Latin: cuscūte, cuscūthe, cuscūta, cuscūtha
    • → Translingual: Cuscuta
      • → Turkish: küsküt
    • → Albanian: kuskuta
    • → Catalan: cuscuta, cúscuta
    • → French: cuscute
    • → Greek: κουσκούτα (kouskoúta)
    • → Italian: cuscuta
    • → Portuguese: cuscuta
    • → Spanish: cuscuta
  • → Middle Armenian: քշութ (kʻšutʻ), քշուշ (kʻšuš), քշուս (kʻšus), աքշուշ (akʻšuš)

References

• “kšw”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• “kšy”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–
• Löw, Immanuel (1914) “Cuscuta”, in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete‎^[1] (in German), volume 28, pages 1–14
• Löw, Immanuel (1881) Aramæische Pflanzennamen‎^[2] (in German), Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, pages 230–231
• Löw, Immanuel (1928) Die Flora der Juden‎^[3] (in German), volume 1, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, pages 453–461