Cannabis

Cannabis indica

Etymology

The name cannabis is thought to be of Scythian origin. Possibly it has an earlier origin in Semitic languages like Hebrew, in God commands Moses to make a holy anointing oil of myrrh, sweet cinnamon, kaneh bosm, and kassia. In kaneh bosm (Hebrew kannabos or kannabus) kan means "reed" or "cane", while bosm means "aromatic". Greek translations of the Old Testament rendered kan as "reed", leading to possibly erroneous English translations as sweet calamus (Exodus 30:23), sweet cane (Isaiah 43:24; Jeremiah 6:20) and calamus (Ezekiel 27:19; Song of Songs 4:14).

Related Topics:
Scythian - Semitic - Hebrew - Myrrh - Cinnamon - Kassia - Sweet calamus - Isaiah - Jeremiah - Ezekiel - Song of Songs

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Sara Benetowa of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw is quoted in the Book of Grass as saying: The astonishing resemblance between the Semitic kanbos and the Scythian cannabis lead me to suppose that the Scythian word was of Semitic origin. These etymological discussions run parallel to arguments drawn from history. The Iranian Scythians were probably related to the Medes, who were neighbors of the Semites and could easily have assimilated the word for hemp. The Semites could also have spread the word during their migrations through Asia Minor.

Related Topics:
Sara Benetowa - Institute of Anthropological Sciences - Book of Grass

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Comparing the English word hemp and the Greek word kannabis shows that the word came down from the Common Indo-European language. Words like kanapish for "hemp" occur in some Finno-Ugrian languages. It is likely that, soon after agriculture started, hemp as a cultivated plant spread widely, carrying its name with it.

Related Topics:
Greek - Indo-European - Finno-Ugrian - Agriculture - Hemp

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