Etymology

henna

H4E1N1N1A1

Today it means: A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers. Full definition →

Arabic حِنَّاء ← Middle Persian [script needed]
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The story

  1. Middle Persian · derived from[script needed]“to smear, anoint”
  2. Arabic · borrowed fromحِنَّاء
  3. English todayhenna

Borrowed from Arabic حِنَّاء (ḥinnāʔ), the name of the tree used to make the dye, probably from Middle Persian [script needed] (*hannāy-, “to smear, anoint”). Doublet of alkanet.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.