Lezaod
Lezaord dicitur arabice lapis lazuli et etiam azurium ipsum.
Apparatus:
This entry is not rubricated in B but forms part of a single paragraph beginning with Leuz.
Lezaord C | Lezaod A | Lezoard ms. e | lezaoard p | lezaoard uel lesarard B | Lerizaoard f | Lesacard j
azurium (-iuʒ f, -riũ ep) AC efp | azurum B | acutirũ? j
{ipsum} et cetera add. j
Translation:
Lezaord is said in Arabic for lapis lazuli, also azurium is the same.
Commentary:
Wehr (1976): ﻻﺯﻭﺭﺩ /lāzuward, lāzaward/ "lapis lazuli; azure". Siggel (1950: 87): ﻻﺯﻭﺭﺩ /lāzward/ "Lasurstein; Lapis lazuli".
The commonly accepted etymology of this mineral is that the Arabs adopted their word lāzuward from Persian läžwärd, reflecting the trade route the substance would have taken. The word entered Europe through trade with the Arabs or translations from Arabic. But D. Goltz (1972: 236ff), mentions a Greek word λαζούριον /lazoúrion/, denoting a blue colour, which appears as lazurium in literature that circulated before the Arab influence. The relationship between the Persian and Greek words has so far not been researched.
The word entered European languages from the 12th century on in two forms: azurium - which Simon uses -, or azura, azurum, azorium, asura, asurum, asorium and many others, leading to the colour adjective "azure", with the initial 'l' being dropped due to misinterpreting it as the Arabic article. The second form entered at the same time, now exclusively used for the mineral. It is generally accompanied by Latin lapis meaning "stone", followed by lazuli or lazuri, the genitive of lazulum/lazurum/lazulus/lazurium, a calque on Arabic ﺧﺠﺮ ﺍﻟﻼﺯﻭﺭﺩ /ḫağar al-lāzward/.
WilfGunther 13/12/13
See also: Lapis lazuli, Azul
