alhenna

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic الحِنَّاء (al-ḥinnāʔ), preserving the Arabic article اَل (al-).

Noun

alhenna (uncountable)

1. (archaic) henna (Lawsonia inermis)

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “alhenna”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Anagrams

• Lenahan

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Old Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Andalusian Arabic, from Arabic حِنَّاء (ḥinnāʔ).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [aˈle.ɲa]

Noun

alhenna f (plural alhennas)

1. henna (shrub (Lawsonia inermis))
   • c. 1250, Alfonso X, Lapidario, f. 32v.

     Et ſi deſpues mezclaren aquel uino con alhenna. ¬ lauaren los cabellos con ello tinnenſe prietos de tintura que nunqua ſe tuelle […]

     And if after they should mix that wine with henna and wash their hair with it, it would be dyed a dark color with an unfading dye […]

Descendants

• Spanish: alheña