Dictionary

salep en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsæləp/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

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”.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula).
   • 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. 1800, Erasmus Darwin, “Sect. XI. Of Draining and Watering Lands.”, in Phytologia: Or The Philosophy of Agriculture and Gardening. With the Theory of Draining Morasses and with an Improved Construction of the Drill Plough, Dublin: Printed for P. Byrne, 108, Grafton-Street, →OCLC, section XI.2.4.5, page 245:
   • In Turkey, Iran, and Syria salep is popular as a restorative and also as a provocative to amatory activity. 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 213:
   • 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. 2014 April 5, “Quite interesting: A quietly intriguing column from the brains behind QI, the BBC quiz show. This week; QI orchids you not”, in The Daily Telegraph (Weekend), page W22:
2. (alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable) Alternative form of saloop (“aromatic drink originally made with salep”).
   alt of saloop

Forms

Translations (18)

el σαλέπι (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ka სალეპი (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · pl salep (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ar سَحْلَب (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · es salep (a starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids) · tr salep (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · bg сале́п (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ko 살렙 (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ja サレップ (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · cmn 蘭莖粉 /兰茎粉 (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · sq salep (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ro salep (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · he סַחְלָב (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · hy սալեպ (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · mk салеп (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · uk са́леп (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · ru са́леп (aromatic drink originally made with salep) · pl salep (a starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids)