Plants with Arabic Names
Sesbania
السَّيْسَبان
Sesbania sesban
A shrub Egyptians plant as a hedge around their fields. Its Arabic name, saysabān, is Persian in origin; from it came French sesban, and then the scientific name of its genus: Sesbania.
- Source of the name
- From an Arabic word
- From the Arabic word
- saysabān
- Genus
- Sesbania
- Species shown
- Sesbania sesban
«السَّيْسَبانُ شجرٌ يَنْبُتُ مِنْ حَبَّة ويَطولُ ولا يَبْقَى على الشتاءِ، لَهُ ورقٌ نَحْوَ وَرَقِ الدِّفْلَى حَسَنٌ، والناسُ يَزْرَعُونَه في البَساتِينِ يُرِيدُونَ حُسْنَه.»
Wadghiri (2/335) dates French sesban/sesbane to 1694 and sesbania to the nineteenth century; the word is 'Persian or Indian, Arabised'. Al-Azhari's Tahdhib quotes al-Farraʾ: saysabān 'is brought from India'.
Al-Jabarti records that during their occupation of Egypt the French cut a road to Bulaq and 'lined both its sides with sesban and trees'.
Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 2.0
Click a card to see it full size; each has a download button for sharing.
Sources
- ابن منظور، لسان العرب ١/٤٦٠
- الأزهريّ، تهذيب اللغة ١٢/٢٢٣
- الجبرتيّ، تاريخ عجائب الآثار ٢/٤٣٤
- عبد العلي الودغيري، العربيّات المغتربات ٢/٣٣٥
- Merriam-Webster: sesban
Spotted a mistake, or have something to add?
Your note comes to us only; it is not published here. We read it, and if it holds we correct the card.
