كبابة

See also: کبابه and كتابة

Arabic

Etymology

It can handily be derived as a diminutive formation of كُبَّة (kubba, “spherule; meatball”); however Persian کبابه چینی (kabâba-yi čînî), کباب چینی (kabâb-i čînî, “cubeb”) and Urdu کَباب چینی (kabāb cenī) / Hindi कबाबचीनी f (kabābcīnī, “cubeb”) may also lay claim upon this word as more complete forms and closer to the plant’s home in Srivijaya. It could be a calque of Old Javanese kumukus (“cubeb; smoke”), from kukus (“smoke, steam”), based on a connection to Arabic كُبَّة (kubba, “meatball”) or كَبَاب (kabāb, “roast meat, kebab”) respectively Persian کباب (kabâb, “roast meat, kebab”) or Hindi कबाब (kabāb, “roast meat, kebab”). However also present in Classical Syriac ܟܒܳܒܳܐ (kəḇāḇā, “cubeb”), which can be put to ܟܽܘܒܴ݁ܐ (kubbā, “spine”) used for various spiny plants, and would explain the vowel variation.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.baː.ba/, /ku.baː.ba/

Noun

كَبَابَة or كُبَابَة • (kabāba or kubāba) f

1. cubeb (Piper cubeba)

   Synonym: حَبّ الْعَرُوس (ḥabb al-ʕarūs)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Ibn Luyūn to this entry?)

   (Can we find and add a quotation of كتاب عمدة الطبيب في معرفة النبات لكل لبيب to this entry?)

Declension

Declension of noun كَبَابَة (kabāba)‎; كُبَابَة (kubāba)

Singular	singular triptote in ـَة (-a)
	Indefinite	Definite	Construct
Informal	كَبَابَة‎; كُبَابَة kabāba‎; kubāba	الْكَبَابَة‎; الْكُبَابَة al-kabāba‎; al-kubāba	كَبَابَة‎; كُبَابَة kabābat‎; kubābat
Nominative	كَبَابَةٌ‎; كُبَابَةٌ kabābatun‎; kubābatun	الْكَبَابَةُ‎; الْكُبَابَةُ al-kabābatu‎; al-kubābatu	كَبَابَةُ‎; كُبَابَةُ kabābatu‎; kubābatu
Accusative	كَبَابَةً‎; كُبَابَةً kabābatan‎; kubābatan	الْكَبَابَةَ‎; الْكُبَابَةَ al-kabābata‎; al-kubābata	كَبَابَةَ‎; كُبَابَةَ kabābata‎; kubābata
Genitive	كَبَابَةٍ‎; كُبَابَةٍ kabābatin‎; kubābatin	الْكَبَابَةِ‎; الْكُبَابَةِ al-kabābati‎; al-kubābati	كَبَابَةِ‎; كُبَابَةِ kabābati‎; kubābati

Descendants

• → Middle Armenian: քապապայ (kʻapapay)

References

• Brockelmann, Carl (1928) Lexicon Syriacum (in Latin), 2nd edition, Halle: Max Niemeyer, published 1995, page 315
• Corriente, Federico, Pereira, Christophe, Vicente, Angeles, editors (2017), Dictionnaire du faisceau dialectal arabe andalou. Perspectives phraséologiques et étymologiques (in French), Berlin: De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 1086, according to whom from Persian
• Dozy, Reinhart Pieter Anne (1881) “كبابة”, in Supplément aux dictionnaires arabes‎^[1] (in French), volume 2, Leiden: E. J. Brill, pages 436a–b, believing in a native derivation
• Fīrūzābādī (1834) Al-uqiyānūs al-basīt‎^[2], 2nd edition, volume I, translated from Arabic into Ottoman Turkish by Aḥmad ʻĀṣim, Constantinople, page 242
• Glessgen, Martin-Dietrich (1996) Die Falkenheilkunde des ‹Moamin› im Spiegel ihrer volgarizzamenti. Studien zur Romania Arabica (Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie; 269/270)‎^[3] (in German), Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, →DOI, →ISBN, page 743, according to whom from Persian and the vowel form كُبَابَة (kubāba) late
• King, Anya (2015) “The New materia medica of the Islamicate Tradition: The Pre-Islamic Context”, in Journal of the American Oriental Society‎^[4], volume 135, number 3, →DOI, page 504 of 499–528, deeming it a “good Arabic derivation”, though confronted with the view of a Persian borrowing, still “much more plausible”.
• Löw, Immanuel (1924) Die Flora der Juden‎^[5] (in German), volume 3, Wien und Leipzig: R. Löwit, page 62
• Steinschneider, Moritz (1898) “Heilmittelnamen der Araber”, in Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes‎^[6], volume 12, § 1637, page 327
• Ullmann, Manfred (1959–1970) Wörterbuch der klassischen arabischen Sprache. Band I (in German), Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, page 16b, claims the vowel form كُبَابَة (kubāba) late
• Wehr, Hans (1979) “كبابة”, in J. Milton Cowan, editor, A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, 4th edition, Ithaca, NY: Spoken Language Services, →ISBN, page 946b