# كامخ
## Arabic
### Etymology

From Aramaic כָּמְכָא / ܟܳܡܟܳܐ (kāməḵā), a Middle Iranian borrowing equivalent to Classical Persian کامه (kāma), Middle Persian [Book Pahlavi needed] (kʾmk' /⁠kāmag⁠/, “soup, gruel”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kaː.max/, /kaː.mix/

### Noun

كَامَخ or كَامِخ • (kāmaḵ or kāmiḵ) m (plural كَوَامِخ (kawāmiḵ)) (obsolete)
* a kind of sauce or pickle made of vinegar and sour milk
** 850–861, علي بن سهل ربن الطبري [ʿAlī ibn Sahl Rabban aṭ-Ṭabarī], edited by Oliver Kahl, ʿAlī ibn Sahl Rabban aṭ-Ṭabarī’s Health Regimen or “Book of the Pearl” كتاب اللؤلؤة (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies; 115), Leiden: Brill, published 2020, →ISBN, § 56, page 84:وكل دهن‭‬ مثل قوة الشىء الذي يطيَّب به مثل الزنبق‭‬ الذي هو حار كالياسمين‭‬ ودهن البنفسج الذي هو بارد‭‬ والخيري والسوسن اللذان‭‬ هما معتدلان بينهما، وكل كامخ فإن‭‬ قوته مثل قوة الشىء الذي عُمِلَ منه لِما فيه من اللين‭‬ والتعفين، فأما المري فإنه معتدل‭‬ في الحر واليبس.Any oil has just the power of the thing used to perfume it—for example, iris, which is hot like jasmine; sweet violet oil, which is cold; or gillyflower and lily, which are both balanced in between. The power of any kāmiḵ is like the power of the thing from which it was made—this is owing to its degenerating and brewing. As for brine sauces, they are balanced between heat and dryness.
** 850–861, علي بن سهل ربن الطبري [ʿAlī ibn Sahl Rabban aṭ-Ṭabarī], edited by Oliver Kahl, ʿAlī ibn Sahl Rabban aṭ-Ṭabarī’s Health Regimen or “Book of the Pearl” كتاب اللؤلؤة (Islamic Philosophy, Theology and Science. Texts and Studies; 115), Leiden: Brill, published 2020, →ISBN, § 156, page 128:وكل كامخ يُعْمَل من شىء من هذه الأشياء فقوته مثل قوة ذلك الشىء.The power of any pickle made of a thing from these things is just like the power of that thing [dill, rue, mustard, cress, melilot, elecampane, sorrel, black nightshade, cucumbers, melons, savory, basil, spinach, mallows, orache, dodder, capers, lettuce, chicory, endive, rocket, radishes, turnips, carrots, celery, minz, basil, dhania, sparrowgrass, lemonbalm, tarragon, purslane, “Syrian leek”, garlic, onions, aubergines, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, hyacinth bean].
** a. 1348, aḏ-Ḏahabī, تاريخ الإسلام [History of Islam]‎:فَتَحَ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ ٱلْمَوْصِلِيِّ. أَبُو نَصْرٍ ٱلزَّاهِدِ، أَحَدُ سَادَاتِ مَشَايِخِ ٱلصُّوفِيَّةِ. لَهُ أَحْوَالٌ وَمَقَامَاتٌ. يُقَالُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ يَتَقَوَّتُ بِفِلْسِ نُخَالَةٍ. وَوَرَدَ أَنَّهُ رَأَى صَبِيَّيْنِ، مَعَ ذَا كَسْرَةٌ عَلَيْهَا كَامِخٌ، وَمَعَ ٱلْآخَرِ كَسْرَةٌ عَلَيْهَا عَسْلٌ. فَقَالَ صَاحِبُ ٱلْكَامِخِ: أَطْعِمْنِي مِنْ عَسَلِكَ. قَالَ: إِنْ صِرْتَ لِي كَلْبًا أَطْعَمْتُكَ. قَالَ: نَعَمْ. فَجَعَلَ فِي عُنُقِهِ حَبْلًا وَقَالَ: اِنْبَحْ. قَالَ فَتْحٌ: لَوْ قَنَعْتُ بِكَامِخِكَ مَا صِرْتُ لَهُ كَلْبًا. ثُمَّ قَالَ: هَٰكَذَا ٱلدُّنْيَا.fataḥa bnu saʕīdin l-mawṣiliyyi. ʔabū naṣrin z-zāhidi, ʔaḥadu sādāti mašāyiḵi ṣ-ṣūfiyyati. lahu ʔaḥwālun wamaqāmātun. yuqālu ʔinnahu kāna yataqawwatu bifilsi nuḵālatin. wawarada ʔannahu raʔā ṣabiyyayni, maʕa ḏā kasratun ʕalayhā kāmiḵun, wamaʕa l-ʔāḵari kasratun ʕalayhā ʕaslun. faqāla ṣāḥibu l-kāmiḵi: ʔaṭʕimnī min ʕasalika. qāla: ʔin ṣirta lī kalban ʔaṭʕamtuka. qāla: naʕam. fajaʕala fī ʕunuqihi ḥablan waqāla: inbaḥ. qāla fatḥun: law qanaʕtu bikāmiḵika mā ṣirtu lahu kalban. ṯumma qāla: hākaḏā d-dunyā.Fatḥ ibn Saʿīd al Mawṣilīy [d. 835]. Abū Naṣr az-Zāhid, one of the gentlemen of the Sufi sheykhs. He had years and standing. It is said he nourished himself by pennyworth bran. It happened that he saw two youngsters, one had a scrap of kāmiḵ, the other a scrap of honey. And the holder of the kāmiḵ said: Give me your honey to taste. If you make me a dog it’s your food. He said: Okay. And he put a rope onto his neck and said: Bark! Fatḥ said: If you had contented yourself with your kāmiḵ you wouldn’t have become a dog for it. Then he said: Such is the world.

#### Descendants

* → Persian: کامخ (kâmax)

### References

* Fraenkel, Siegmund (1886) Die aramäischen Fremdwörter im Arabischen (in German), Leiden: E. J. Brill, page 288
* “kmk”, in The Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project, Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College, 1986–