kalanchoe
/ˌkæləŋˈkoʊi/
noun
Origin
Chinese
gāláncài — a name for a specific type of plant
Overview
Meaning Now
- A succulent plant of the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, native primarily to the Old World, known for its thick, fleshy leaves and clusters of small, often colorful flowers.
Language path
Chinese → Dutch → International Scientific/Modern English
Earliest form
Kalanchoe
Earliest period
18th century
Journey
The name was first recorded by the Jesuit missionary Georg Joseph Kamel in the Philippines and later Latinized by the French botanist Michel Adanson. It is widely considered to be derived from a Cantonese or Chinese botanical term for the plant, though the specific etymology within Chinese remains a subject of linguistic study.
Evolution
- 17th century
gāláncài
“plant name used in Chinese”
Reported by Georg Joseph Kamel.
- 1763
Kalanchoe
“botanical genus name”
Michel Adanson introduced the name to science.
Connections
Related across languages
Dutch
kalanchoë
the same plant genus
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External references use DefinedTerm semantics.