כרפס

Hebrew

FWOTD – 5 April 2023

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /karˈpas/

Etymology 1

Root
כ־ר־פ־ס (k-r-p-s)
1 term

Compare Maltese karfus (celery), Classical Syriac ܟܪܦܣܐ (kerpəsā, celery), Arabic كَرَفْس (karafs, celery). The ultimate provenance of these terms is murky.

Noun

כַּרְפַּס • (karpásm

  1. celery
Synonyms
  • סֶלֶרִי (séleri)

References

  • כרפס” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

Etymology 2

Via Early Middle Persian from Sanskrit कर्पास (karpāsa, cotton).

Noun

כַּרְפַּס • (karpásm

  1. (biblical, rare) a type of expensive fabric made of cotton
Usage notes
  • According to some, the color of this fabric was green.
Descendants
  • Ancient Greek: κάρπᾰσος (kárpăsos), κάλπᾰσος (kálpăsos)

References

  • Lewy, Heinrich (1895) Die semitischen Fremdwörter im Griechischen (in German), Berlin: R. Gaertner’s Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 126
  • Löw, Immanuel (1924) Die Flora der Juden[1] (in German), volume 2, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, pages 235–242 (for the cotton)
  • Löw, Immanuel (1924) Die Flora der Juden[2] (in German), volume 2, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, page 236 (for the celery)
  • Löw, Immanuel (1914–1915) “Karpas”, in Zeitschrift für Assyriologie und verwandte Gebiete[3] (in German), volume 29, pages 247–264 (for either)