بلح

A variant of فَحْل (faḥl, “stallion”); for the voicing change particular to Arabic compare بُرْغُوث (burḡūṯ). The term is also attested as a borrowing in Coptic ⲃⲉⲗϩⲱⲗ (belhōl), ⲃⲉϩⲱⲗ (behōl, “date-palm”). Additionally, compare possibly Soqotri حباله (ḥəbéľe, “tamarind”), which may be related through metathesis.

• IPA^(key): /ba.laħ/

بَلَح • (balaḥ) m (collective, singulative بَلَحَة f (balaḥa))

1. unripe or fresh dates (fruit of the date palm)
   • 7th century CE, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, 36:54:

     نَهَى رَسُولُ ٱللّٰهِ صَلَّى ٱللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الدُّبَّاءِ وَٱلْحَنْتَمِ وَٱلْمُزَفَّتِ وَٱلنَّقِيرِ وَأَنْ يُخْلَطَ الْبَلَحُ بِالزَّهْوِ.‏

     nahā rasūlu llāhi ṣallā llāhu ʕalayhi wasallama ʕani d-dubbāʔi wal-ḥantami wal-muzaffati wan-naqīri waʔan yuḵlaṭa l-balaḥu bi-z-zahwi.

     The prophet (PBUH) forbade [the preparation of wine] in a bottle-gourd, in a colocynth container, in a varnished jar, a hollow stump, and from mixing up ripe dates with nearly ripe dates.

• بَلَح الْبَحْر (balaḥ al-baḥr, “mussels”)

• تَمْر (tamr, “(dried) dates”)