ܩܢܕܪܘܓ [?] qndrwg mastic (?)
Allotropes: ܩܝܢܕܪܘܓ qyndrwg; ܩܘܢܕܪܘܓ qwndrwg; ܩܘܢܕܘܓ qwndwg; ܩܢܕܘܓ qndwg; ܩܢܕܪܘ qndrw
MP *kundrūg, from an older MP *kundurag? Duval refers to NP kundurak, kundrū mastic (Steingass 1054). The allotropes, all attested in BB, show different degrees of phonological adaptation and seem to have been borrowed in different times: for instance, qndrw reflects NP kundrū. Gignoux (personal communication) suggests that this word, together with qyndrʾ (see s.v.), comes from Gr. χόνδρος grain (of incense), but the etymon of the Greek word is uncertain (cf. Frisk II 1110 f.) and the rendering of Gr. χ with Syr. q would be very strange, being normally rendered with Syr. k. NP kundurak presupposes MP *kundurag, but all the Syr. allotropes with final suffix show a final sequence -wg, which may only reflect MP -ūg or -ōg, but not -ag. It is not excluded, however, that all the allotropes underwent a metathesis (*qwndwrg > qwndrwg, whence qwndwg and qndwg, with progressive phonological simplification), perhaps in some way connected to the metathesis that may explain the relation between NP kundurak and NP kundrū. In any case, the -y- in qyndrwg is hardly explainable, unless it reflects a formal contamination with qyndrʾ (see s.v. and § 11.3.6, where similar cases of between Syr. y and an Iranian back vowel are listed) ● BB 223, 13; 1812, 19 etc. ◆ Duval index pers. 225; Fraenkel 1889, 245