salep
/ˈsæləp/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.20 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula).
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Alternative form of saloop (“aromatic drink originally made with salep”).
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Where finally the draining of marſhy grounds can not be effected at a reſponſible expence, ſome plants may perhaps be cultivated with profit to the cultivator; as in ſome ſituations the feſtica fluitans, floating feſcue, callitriche, ſtar-graſs; or in others the orchis for the purpoſe of making ſaloop by drying the peeled roots in an oven."
- "In Turkey, Iran, and Syria salep is popular as a restorative and also as a provocative to amatory activity."
- "The tubers of one [orchid] species, Orchis mascula, produce a flour called salep, which was made into a drink known as "saloop" in 18th-century London, as an alternative to coffee (Charles Lamb thought it the ideal breakfast for chimney sweeps). Salep is a Turkish word with an even more precise derivation (it's from the Arabic for "fox's testicles"). Despite this, the Turks still use it to make a strange elastic ice cream, eaten with a knife and fork, which carries a pungent aftertaste compared by one commentator to the scent of "goats on a rainy day". Salep ice cream is so popular that O. mascula is now a protected species in Turkey."
Etymology
Etymology tree Arabic خُصَى (ḵuṣā) Proto-Semitic *ṯaʕlab- Arabic ثَعْلَب (ṯaʕlab) Arabic خُصَى الثَعْلَب (ḵuṣā aṯ-ṯaʕlab) Arabic سَحْلَب (saḥlab)bor. Ottoman Turkish سالپ (sālep) Turkish salepbor. French salepbor. English salep Borrowed from French salep, borrowed from Turkish salep, from Ottoman Turkish سالپ (sālep), borrowed from Arabic سَحْلَب (saḥlab), from خُصَى الثَعْلَب (ḵuṣā aṯ-ṯaʕlab), from خُصَى (ḵuṣā) + ثَعْلَب (ṯaʕlab), literally “fox testicles”.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsæləp/
- British English: /ˈsæləp/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Food.