§ 4 آطْرِیْلَالٌ

آطْرِیْلَالٌ ’āţrīlāl or أَاطْرِیْلَالٌ, this word (as an independent entry), is absent in almost Ar. classical lexicons; in Qâmûs, in the article غرب we read:رِجْلُ الغُراب: ضَرْبٌ من صَرِّ الإِبلِ شديدٌ، لا يَقْدِرُ الفَصِـيلُ على أَن يَرْضَعَ أُمَّه و حشيشة تُسَمّی بالبَرْبَرِیَّةِ: آطْرِيلَال a Barbarian word Ï, also in T,

Freytag mentions this word as أَاطَریلال ’āţarīlāl, Freytag LAL 1:1.

Dozy have corrected it as ااطِریلال ’āţirīlāl and referring to Ibn-Beytâr KJMAA 1:2b, and معجم بقطر, proposes these two meanings: cerfeuil (plante potagère), and corne-de-cerf (plant sauvage et cultivée), respectively, Dozy SDA 1.

Ibn-Beytâr mentions it as آاطِرِیلَال, and defines it as: a Barbarian noun اسم بربری, meaning: تأویله رِجل الطائر; also he adds this drug is famous in اشتهرت فی المغرب الأوسط من قبیلة من البربر, Ibn-Beytâr KJMAA 1:4f.

Dr. Mûkhtâr Hâshim, in his article titled آطریلال in مجلة التراث العربي, states his doubt on the meanings proposed by Dozy,^❶ and proposes this history for this word: according to the literature, perh. the Barbers are the first people, who knew the medicinal properties of this plant (for treatment of Vitiligo), then it was known in the 7th century of Hijra^h to the eastern lands, namely Egypt and Syria  أول من عرف نفع هذا النبات من البرص هم البربر ثم انتشرت معرفته في البلاد المشرقية و منها مصر و سورية في القرن السابع للهجرة; he also adds: the word آاطریلال is a Barbarian word, the first part آ- ā- is the definite article of masculine, so some lexicons omit it and mention it simply as أطریلال, Journal of Turrâth al-‘Arabiyy 8(2)1982 Jul.

According to another source:

1. The scientific name of آاطریلال of Ibn-Beytâr has been mentioned as: Ptychotis verticillata (also Ammoides);

2. The author defines المغرب الأوسط as: Algeria الجزائر;

3. It is said that nowadays, the local name of this plant (note that: another species, namely Ptychotis heterophyllum, similar to the plant of the age of Ibn-Beytâr) is called اطليلان aţlīlān, or اضليلان ażlīlān, which they are perh. the corruptions of آاطریلال [بالمغرب باسم «اطليلان» أو «اضليلان»، و هو كما هو ظاهر، تحريف لإسم آاطريلال];

4. It also quotes Ibn-Beytâr that this word is attributed to a Barbarian tribe of بني أبي شعيب، من بني وجهان, located in (present) Bougie من أعمال بجاية;

5. It is a word from a Barbarian الأسماء البربرية, or a language called الأمازيغية Tamazight, تعليقات لحسن بنلفقيه بنلفقيه (www.alwaraq.net).

According to Radia, in Barbarian language, آطِرِیلَال means: the flying man [Dans son traité Al-Jami, Ibn-Al-Baytar décrit en détail la plante “Al-Aatiriylaal”, qui signifie en berbère “l’homme volant”], Radia (www.algerie-monde.com).

The initial part of the word (ā-), in Barbarian languages, is the definite article of singular masculine [Au singulier, les noms communs masculins commencent presque tous par une des voyelles: a, e, i, ou], René Basset Manuel de Langue Kabyle 55.

Also, in these languages, there is a tendency to add an ā- prefix, at the beginning of Ar. words, introduced in Tamaz. language [quelquefois purement euphonique au commencement de certains mots venant de l'arabe], Huyghe DKF 1.

For the rest part of the word, cf:

(1) Perh. from ⴰⵟⵉⵔⵍⴰⵍ or ⴰⵟⵉⵔ ⵓⵍⵍⴰⵍ ţir-ellil a bat [la chauve-souris], Huyghe DKF 209,332.

(2) or from ā-, ţir bird or flying, and l‛il baby, man, whence a flying man.

Also cf. Tamaz. azrilal angelica [angélique (plante)], Huyghe Dictionnaire Kabyle-Français 76.

Also cf. Atrilan’a and رجل الغراب, Debeaux Flore de la Kabylie du Djurdjura 151, and as اطريبلال atariabelāl and رجل الغراب, comparing أطر with Sem. أثر [vestigium], Sprengel PDA II 466.

^❶ Dr. Mûkhtâr Hâshim says, according to the suggested plant name by Dozy, he may mean Anthriscus cerefolium L., but this plant is perh. Ammi visnaga L., or Ammi majus L., in modern botany, Journal of Turrâth al-‘Arabiyy 8(2)1982 Jul.