saxaul

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/ˈsæksɔːl/

noun

Either of two species of the amaranth genus Haloxylon: Haloxylon ammodendron (syn. Haloxylon aphyllum; black saxaul) and Haloxylon persicum (white saxaul), found in sandy habitats from Egypt to Mongolia and China.

OriginRussian саксау́л ← Turkic ← xal →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounsaxaul (plural saxauls)

plural saxauls · alternative saksaul

  1. Either of two species of the amaranth genus Haloxylon: Haloxylon ammodendron (syn. Haloxylon aphyllum; black saxaul) and Haloxylon persicum (white saxaul), found in sandy habitats from Egypt to Mongolia and China.

Origin

  1. xal“a bush growing in the desert”
  2. Turkic
  3. Russianсаксау́л
  4. Englishsaxaul

Borrowed from Russian саксау́л (saksaúl), via a Turkic variety (compare Bashkir саҡсауыл (saqsawıl), Kazakh сексеуіл (seksewil)), ultimately from Kalmyk [script needed] (zaɣzāml̥, “a bush growing in the desert”), compare Mongolian заг (zag, “saxaul”), Kalmyk за (za).

More words from Russian, Turkic, xal

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic رِمْث, رَمْث
  • رِمْث (rimṯ)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
  • رَمْث (ramṯ)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
  • غَضًى (ḡaḍan)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
  • غَضًا (ḡaḍan)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
Chinese Mandarin 梭梭
  • 梭梭 (suōsuō)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
Finnish saksauli
  • saksauliany plant of the Haloxylon genus
German Saxaul, Saksaul
  • Saxaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
  • Saksaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
Russian саксау́л
  • саксау́л (saksaúl)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
Slovak saxaul, saksaul
  • saxaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
  • saksaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
Swedish saxaul
  • saxaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
Turkish saksaul
  • saksaulany plant of the Haloxylon genus
Ukrainian саксау́л
  • саксау́л (saksaúl)any plant of the Haloxylon genus
Cite this entry
APA

saxaul. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saxaul

MLA

“saxaul.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saxaul. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saxaul,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saxaul.

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