λαέρκινον

Galen (14.72, 8 Kühn) claims that the name of the plant καρπήσιον ‘Valeriana dioscoridis’ in Side is λαέρκινον. As Neumann 1968a:76 rightly remarks, this word had usually been ignored in Sidetic research (it is missing even in his handbook of Neumann 1961a). It is unfortunately unclear if this word was used by the Sidetic speaking Sidetans or by the Greek speaking ones (or both). LSJ:1023 treats it as Greek word, but it is missing in the Greek etymological dictionaries (GEW, DELG, EDG). Without further evidence both its status and its origin remain unclear.

[Zs.S.]

Last updated: 22 May 2020