Zor

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Zor apud Dyascoridem vocatur secunda species serpilli.


Apparatus:

secunda om. f

species A | speties B | spe͡s C ef

serpilli (ser- e) AC ef | serpilii B


Translation:

Zor is according to Dyascorides the name for a second kind of serpillum {"wild thyme"}.


Commentary:

Simon alludes ultimately to Dioscorides Longobardus, 3, 40, ed. Stadler (1899: 395) De herpillo: Herpillu aut zois, qui dicitur, est hortinus - "Herpyllos or zois, as it is called, is a garden {plant}".

Simon's zor is due to a misreading of zois, which is a corrupted form of ζυγίς /zygís/ "a kind of wild thyme" (LSJ). The etymology of this word is unclear although some scholars see it as related to ζυγόν /zygón/ "yoke", but it is difficult to see a motive for this name.

Zygis has survived into botanical Latin as the specific epithet in e.g. Thymus zygis L. "Spanish thyme".

For more information see Serpillum.

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