behen

B3E1H4E1N1

noun

Behen rubrum or red behen: said in some sources to be Salvia haematodes (now Salvia pratensis subsp. haematodes), but in other sources to be Statice limonium, which is a synonym for Limonium vulgare.

OriginArabic بَهْمَن →
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Meanings

nounbehen (uncountable)
  1. Any of various plants imported into Europe for the pharmaceutical trade in dried form, so of uncertain identity.
    1. obsoleteuncountableBehen rubrum or red behen: said in some sources to be Salvia haematodes (now Salvia pratensis subsp. haematodes), but in other sources to be Statice limonium, which is a synonym for Limonium vulgare.

      The roots and seed of red Behen are Styptic, or Restringent […]

      1735, John K'Eogh, Botanalogia Universalis Hibernica
    2. obsoleteuncountableBehen album or white behen: a thistle native to western and central Asia, Centaurea behen

      White Behen is referred by all writers on materia medica to Centaurea Behen L., a plant of Persia and traditionally also of the Lebanon.

      1862, American Journal of Pharmacy, volume 34, page 549
    3. obsoleteuncountableBehen officinarum: Cucubalis behen or Oberna behen, synonyms for Silene vulgaris

Origin

  1. Arabicبَهْمَن
  2. Englishbehen

A Medieval Latin transcription of the Arabic بَهْمَن (bahman).

More words from Arabic

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Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

heben
Cite this entry
APA

behen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behen

MLA

“behen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behen. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “behen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/behen.

Source: behen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.