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Centaury, Stirsozila in Dacian language, as depicted in 6th-century Leiden manuscript of Pseudo-Apuleius' Herbarius

Skiare, Dacian for Wild Teasel, depicted in 6th-century Vienna manuscript of Dioscorides' De Materia Medica

This is a list of plant names in Dacian, surviving from ancient botanical works such as Dioscorides' De Materia Medica (abb. MM) and Pseudo-Apuleius' Herbarius (abb. Herb.). Dacian plant names are one of the primary sources left to us for studying the Dacian language, an ancient language of South Eastern Europe. This list also includes a Bessian plant name and a Moesian plant name, both neighboring Daco-Thracian tribes.

A separate list exists containing Romanian words of possible Dacian origin that form the Eastern Romance substratum.

Dacian  | English  | Botanical  | Notes

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Adila  |

1. Bistort [1]
2. Arum [2]

1. Persicaria bistorta, also classified as Polygonum bistorta [3]
2. Arum maculatum [4]

1. ^ primary source for this meaning as yet unidentified
2. ^ Herb., 14

Amalusta, Amolusta [5], Amulusta  | Chamomile | Matricaria recutita or Anthemis tinctoria | ^ Herb. 23; possibly related to Albanian ëmbël, ambël "sweet".[1]
*lustu appears as a proto-Celtic word for "plant".[2]
Aniarsexe, Aniassexie  | Sainfoin a.k.a. Cock's Head  | Onobrychis caput galii
Aprus  | Gladwin Iris | Iris foetidissima
Arpopria, Arborria  | Climbing Ivy  | Hedera helix
Asa  | Coltsfoot  | Tussilago farfara | also a Bessian plant name.
Aurumetti, Aurimetellum  | Cranesbill a.k.a. Crow's Foot, Wild Geranium ?  | Geranium sylvaticum or Ranunculus serdous?  | MM 2.175, Herb. 67
Azila  | Hound's Tongue  | Cynoglossum | Probably a variant of Usazila (see below)
Bles, Blis  | Purple Amaranth  | Amaranthus blitum
Budalla, Budama, Budathala, Budathla  | Anchusa | Anchusa italica
Caropithla, Karopithla  |

1. Yellow Serradella
2. Common Polypody

1. Ornithopus compressus
2. Polypodium vulgare

Cercer, Cerceraphron, Kerker, Kerkeraphron  | Pimpernel  | Anagallis
Chodela, Khodela  | Ground Pine | Lycopodium (Lycopodium clavatum or Lycopodium annotitum / Lycopodium dubium?)
Cinouboila, Cinuboila, Kinouboila, Kinuboila  |

1. Wild Pumpkin
2. White Bryony.
3. White Grape

1. Cucurbita foetidissima
2. Bryonia alba
3. Vitis

| a compound of kinu "dog" and oboila "apple", akin to Lithuanian šúnobuolas "wild pumpkin", Thracian dinupula, sinupyla "id"
Coadama, Koadama  | Pondweed | Potamogeton zosteraefolium
Coicolida, Koikolida  | Nightshade  | Atropa belladonna  | the first element koiko means "one-eyed" or "blind", and is akin to Latin caecus "blind", Irish caoch "one-eyed", Goth haihs "one-eyed", Sanskrit kekara "squint-eyed"
Cotiata, Kotiata  | Switchgrass | Panicum dactylum | also refers to genus Agropyron?
Courionnecum, Couriounnecum, Curiounnecum, Kourionnekoum  | Arum | Arum
Coustane, Croustane, Crustane, Custane, Koustane, Kroustane, Krustane, Kustane  | Greater celandine or Lesser celandine  | Chelidonium majus or Ranunculus ficaria
Cycolis, Kykolis  | Groundcherry or Ashwagandha  | Physalis sp. or Withania somnifera
Dacina, Dakina  |

1. Beet
2. False helleborine

1. Beta vulgaris
2. Veratrum nigrum

| the Moesian name for these plants was Mendruta (see below)
Dicotella  | White Bryony  | Bryonia alba
Dielina, Dielleina, Diellena  | Henbane  | Hyoscyamus niger |
Diesapter  | Mullein | Verbascum
Diessathel  | Wavyleaf Mullein  | Verbascum sinuatum | from IE *diwes-sētlo; where the second element meant "sieve" (cf. Old Norse sáld "sieve", Welsh hidl "strainer", Lithuanian sėkla "seed", Greek ēthein "to strain", Old Church Slavonic sito)[3]
Diesema  | Mullein | Verbascum | from IE *diyes eusmn. "burning sky" (cf. Latin dies "day", Greek heúein "to burn", Albanian diell "sun") and similar to German Himmelbrand "mullein", literally "burning heavens".[4]
Diodela, Duodela, Duodella, Ziodela  |

1. Yarrow?
2. Chamomile
3. Sweet Marjoram

1. Achillea millefolium?
2. Matricaria recutita
3. Origanum majorana

Dracontos  | Rosemary | Rosmarinus officinalis
Dokela  | Bugle | Ajuga iva
Dyn  | Nettle  | Urtica
Ebustrone  | Lesser celandine  | Ranunculus ficaria | From Pseudo-Apuleis
Gonoleta, Gouoleta, Guoleta, Guolete  | Gromwell | Lithospermum tenuiflorum | Consumed as an oral contraceptive
Hormea, Hormia  | Annual Clary  | Salvia horminum
Lax  | Purslane | Portulaca oleracea | Used as a laxative
Manteia, Mantia  | Woolly Blackberry | Rubus tomentosus
Mendruta  |

1. Beet
2. False Helleborine

1. Beta vulgaris
2. Veratrum nigrum

| Actually, a Moesian plant name
Mizela, Mizila, Mozula, Mouzula  | Thyme | Thymus
Nemenepsa  | Ground Pine | Lycopodium
Olma  | Dwarf elder, Danewort  | Sambucus ebulus
Parithia, Parthia  | Dog's Tooth Grass | Cynodon ?
Pegrina  | White Bryony  | Bryonia alba
Phithophthethela  | Maidenhair fern  | Adiantum
Polpum  | Dill | Anethum graveolens
Priadela, Priadila  | White Bryony or Black Bryony  | Bryonia alba or Tamus communis
Probedula, Procedila [6], Propedila, Propedula, Propodila  | Creeping Cinquefoil | Potentilla reptans | ^ Procedila< Prokedila, probably a scribal error for *Probedila, a graphic confusion between β/κ being rather common in Greek manuscripts. Compare to the Gaulish name for this plant, Pempedula (five-leaved).
Prodiarna, Prodiorna  | Black Hellebore | Helleborus niger
Rathibida  | Italian Aster | Aster amellus
Riborasta  | Burdock  | Arctium
Salia  |

1. Anise
2. Stinking Tutsan

1. Pimpinella tragium
2. Hypericum hircunum

Seba  | Elderberry  | Sambucus
Skiare  | Wild Teasel  | Dipsacus sylvestris or Dipsacus fullonum
Skinpoax, Sipoax, Spioax  | Broadleaf Plantain  | Plantago major
Sikupnoex, Sikupnux  | Eryngo  | Eryngium campestre
Stirsozila  | Centaury  | Centaurium erythraea, formerly classified as Erythraea centaurium | from Pseudo-Apuleis
Tanidila  | Catmint  | Nepeta
Teudila  | Peppermint or Horsemint or Calamint?  | Mentha x piperita or Mentha sylvestris or Calamintha?
Troutrastra, Trutrastra, Tutrastra  |

1. Pumpkin
2. Colocynth

1. Cucurbita
2. Citrullus colocynthis

Toulbela, Tulbela  | Centaury  | Centaurium erythraea
Usazila  | Hound's Tongue  | Cynoglossum | Probably a variant of Azila (see above)
Zena  | Poison Hemlock | Conium maculatum
Zired  | Redstem Wormwood  | Artemisia scoparia
Zououster, Zuste, Zuuster  | Wormwood | Artemisia arborescens or campestris

## See also

* Dacian language
* List of Dacian words
* List of Romanian words of possible Dacian origin
* List of Dacian names

## References

1. ↑ Malcolm, Noel. Kosovo: A Short History. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
2. ↑ Prifysgol Cymru University of Wales; Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies; English - proto-Celtic word list
3. ↑ Orel, Vladimir E. A Handbook of Germanic Etymology. Brill, 1998.
4. ↑ Katičic', Radislav. Ancient Languages of the Balkans, Part One. Paris: Mouton, 1976: 149.

## External links

| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dacian and Dacians.

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* Sorin Olteanu's Project: Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum - The Dacian Plant Names