Etymology

valerian

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Today it means: A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers. Full definition →

Old French valeriane ← Medieval Latin valeriāna ← Turkic
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valerian · noun1

  1. Turkic · derived from
  2. Medieval Latin · derived fromvaleriāna
  3. Old French · derived fromvaleriane
  4. English todayvalerian

From Old French valeriane or Medieval Latin valeriāna, a reinterpretation of what is found as German Baldrian after valēre (“to be powerful”) or also the gentilic name Valerius, which is seemingly borrowed in the Dark Age period from the late 6ᵗʰ to early 8ᵗʰ century from Turkic or Proto-Mongolic, when the Pannonian Avars were direct neighbours to the Germans, notably also present in Hungarian bojtorján (“burdock”), ultimately from Proto-Mongolic, reflected as Middle Mongol ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷᠭᠠᠨ᠎ᠠ (balčirɣan-a, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷ (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix ᠭᠠᠨᠠ (-ɣana), Mongolian балчиргана (balčirgana, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as балчир (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix -гана (-gana). See Ottoman Turkish بالدران (baldıran, “hemlock”) for Turkic cognates.

Valerian · proper noun2

  1. Latin · derived fromValeriānus
  2. English todayValerian

From Latin Valeriānus, from Valerius.

Valerian · proper noun3

  1. Russian · derived fromВалериа́н
  2. English todayValerian

From Russian Валериа́н (Valerián).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.