Demest

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Demest exponit Avicenna quod est laurus que etiam gar dicitur, et propter hec duo nomina duo de ipsa facit capitula, unum in littera del, aliud in gain, hoc idem facit de aliquibus aliis medicinis, quia diversis nominibus vocantur plura facit capitula.


Apparatus:

etiam | est fp
duo de ipsa (ipso ep) facit capitula ABC efp | duo capl’a de ipso s͞t j
de ipsa ABC f | de ipso ejp
aliud | alterum f
gaim B fjp | gãi A | gamj e | gain scripsi (Wilf Gunther)
vocantur | uocat~ j


Translation:

Avicenna explains that Arabic demest is in Latin laurus {"laurel"}, a plant which is also called gar in Arabic, and because of these two names he makes two chapters of it, one under the letter del, and the second under the letter gain. He does the same with other medicines too: because they are known under different names he makes several chapters.


Commentary:

Demest:
Siggel (1950: 35): ﺩﻫﻣﺳﺖ /dahmast/ S. v. Laurus nobilis, Lorbeersamen … {i.e. "laurel seed"}.
Wehr (1976): ﻏﺎﺭ /ġār/ "laurel tree, bay"; Siggel p. 54: ﻏﺎﺭ /ġār/ Laurus nobilis, Lorbeer {i.e. "laurel"}. .

Simon alludes to the following chapters in [Goehl] Avicenna’s Canon, liber secundus:
Capitulum 214. De demest. (followed by id est lauro (added to demest annotation: dhemest id est laurus.) Demest quid est? Est arbor lauri ... - "What is demest? It is the laurel tree".

Capitulum 455 (451). De lauro (with annotation: gar).

Also: 'Capitulum 303. De grano lauri (with annotation: hab algar). Granum lauri. Ipsum est granum ademest et est sicut avellana parva; … - "The laurel berry. It is the ademest berry and it is like a small 'hazelnut'".
Nb: hab algar = ﺣﺐ ﺍﻟﻐﺎﺭ /ḥabb al-ġār/ (lit.) "seed of laurel".
ademest < article ﺍﻝ /al/ + ﺩﻫﻣﺳﺖ /dahmast/ = /ad-dahmast/

The text of all these chapters is available online in the Lyon editon (1522: 89). [[1]], De demest Cap. ccxiiii; (1522: 105): De lauro Cap. cccclv and (1522: 96): De grano lauri Cap. ccciii.
The original Arabic text can be found p. 159: ﺩﻫﻣﺳﺖ /dahmast/ [[2]]; p. 278: ﻏﺎﺭ /ġār/ [[3]]; p. 178: ﺣﺐ ﺍﻟﻐﺎﺭ /ḥabb al-ġār/ [[4]].

The letters mentioned by Simon are ﺩﺍﻝ ﺩ /dāl/, the 8th letter of the Arabic alphabet, and ﻏﻴﻦ ﻍ /ġain/, the 19th letter. For more information on the pronunciation of /ġ/ see G littera, Commentary.


WilfGunther 10:26, 27 June 2015 (BST)


See also: Dafnis, Gar, Hab demest


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