albahaca

Spanish

Albahaca

Etymology

Inherited from Old Spanish albafaca, metathesized from Arabic الْحَبَق (al-ḥabaq, “basil”), first attested in the 13th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /albaˈaka/ [al.β̞aˈa.ka], /alˈbaka/ [alˈβ̞a.ka]

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aka
• Syllabification: al‧ba‧ha‧ca

Noun

albahaca f (plural albahacas)

1. basil (plant or culinary herb)

   Synonyms: manjerico, alhábega

Descendants

• → Basque: albaka
• → Cebuano: albahaka
• → Mecayapan Nahuatl: albaja̱quej
• → Russian: альбаа́ка (alʹbaáka)
• → Tagalog: albahaka

Further reading

• Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1984) “albahaca”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico (in Spanish), volume I (A–Ca), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 112
• “albahaca”, in Diccionario de la lengua española (in Spanish), online version 23.7, Royal Spanish Academy, 2023 November 28