*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of salep

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. Englis

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula). · Alternative form of saloop (“aromatic drink originally made with salep”).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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”.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:salep",
        "text": "++",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nArabic خُصَى (ḵuṣā)\nProto-Semitic *ṯaʕlab-\nArabic ثَعْلَب (ṯaʕlab)\nArabic خُصَى الثَعْلَب (ḵuṣā aṯ-ṯaʕlab)\nArabic سَحْلَب (saḥlab)bor.\nOttoman Turkish سالپ (sālep)\nTurkish salepbor.\nFrench salepbor.\nEnglish salep\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"transliteration\" : \"sālep\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"خُصَى\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"خ ص ي\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"root\", \"is_invisible\" : \"all\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"خُصْيَة\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"fox\", \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Semitic\", \"term\" : \"*ṯaʕlab-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"sem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"ثَعْلَب\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"خُصَى الثَعْلَب\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Arabic\", \"term\" : \"سَحْلَب\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ar\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Ottoman Turkish\", \"term\" : \"سالپ\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ota\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Turkish\", \"term\" : \"salep\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"tr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"salep\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"salep\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"salep\">\nBorrowed 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”."
    },
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    }
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    ],
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      "ثَعْلَب",
      "ثعلب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "خُصَى",
      "خصية#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "الثَعْلَب",
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    ],
    [
      "سَحْلَب",
      "سحلب#Arabic"
    ],
    [
      "سالپ",
      "سالپ#Ottoman_Turkish"
    ],
    [
      "salep",
      "salep#Turkish"
    ],
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      "salep",
      "salep#French"
    ],
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    ],
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    ],
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    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A starch or jelly made out of plants in the Orchidaceae family, such as early-purple orchids (Orchis mascula).",
        "Alternative form of saloop (“aromatic drink originally made with salep”)."
      ],
      "tags": [
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for salep →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c2FsZXA