ܟܘܠܝܢܓܢ kwlyngn γαλάγγις, Galanga, gingerwort
Allotrope: ܟܘܠܢܓܐܢ kwlngʾn
MP *xwālingān (Gignoux 1998–1999, 199 f.); Gignoux translates "galanga, spice of life, i.e. a kind of ginger"; as regards NP xwālinǰān galangale (Steingass 480), Gignoux observes that it “[...] continues the reconstructed Syriac form xwālingān. But what could be the meaning of such an Iranian word? Maybe we can compare it with the superlative MP xwālist ‘sweetest’ (MacKenzie, CPD 95) and Man. MP xwʾryst (Boyce 1977, p. 100), but ginger and plants related to it are not especially sweet!” In fact, we may suspect a formal evolution due to folk-etymology of the Iranian word, that is a loanword from OInd. kulañja- the plant Alpinia galanga (Monier-Williams 1899, 295): see Laufer 1919, 545; Mancini 1992, 100. The allotrope kwlngʾn is nearer to the Arab. form of this word, ḫulungān rhizome of galingale ● Med 174, 12; 309, 20; 319, 4; BB 876, 1 ◆ LS 329b; Lagarde GA 56, 144; PS Suppl. 161; Duval index pers. 217