Gendebeduster

Gendebeduster arabice est castoreum Stephanus vero gendebedaston scripsit.

Apparatus:

castoreum om. p
scripsit om. f

Translation:

Gendebeduster is Arabic for castoreum, but Stephanus writes gendebedaston.

Commentary:

Gendebeduster:
Siggel (1950: 26): p. {= Persian} ﺟﻨﺪﺑﻴﺪﺳﺘﺮ /ğundbīdastar/ Bibergeil v. Castoreum {i.e. "castoreum"}.
Steingass (1892: 1099) /gund/ "testicle", /gund-i bīdastar/ "testicles of the beaver".
Dozy: ﺑﻴﺪﺳﺘﺮ /baidustar/, ﺑﺎﺩﺳﺘﺮ /bādustar/ castor {"beaver"}.
See also Vazquez Herrera (1989: 229).

Stephanus has in his Breviarium: kastoros orxis … castoreũ … gendebedastarũ [[1]].
N.b. kastoros orxis i.e. κάστορος ὄρχεις /kástoros órkheis/, medieval Greek /kástoros órkhis/, lit. "beaver’s testicles".

Zoological remarks:

Castoreum is in fact an exudation secreted by beavers of both sexes from a pair of castor sacs, a type of scent gland and not – as was long held - from the male beaver’s testicles. For further information see [[2]].

WilfGunther 21/12/2013

See also: Beduster, Antim algende beduster, Iumdebeduster

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