h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Al, I'm subbing your cucumbers entry at A38715915. I've a couple of questions:

# How can there be an Old English word for cucumbers if they are not mentioned until 1326?

# Is the cucumber juice as a relief from eczema drunk or applied externally?

G

Hi Gnomon,

Well, you're more of an expert on OE than I am, so will know how long it continued to be used. However, this is what one site says:

<http://danpcarr.blogspot.com/2007/10/cucumber.html

Old English word of the day:
eorþæppel [&#277;&#601;rTH'-&#259;p-p&#601;l]: literally, earth-apple.
No doubt due to the wave of Christianization entering Britain, this term would be replaced by Latin cucumis (and evolve further under French influence). But it appears in the Old English version of the Book of Numbers 11:5, speaking of the foods in Egypt: "cucumeres, ðæt synd eorþæppla," "cucumbers, which are earth-apples." It's funny because the earth-apples I'm used to are the much more recent pommes de terre, potatoes.>

I've included the whole script as, when I tried to use the URL to return to the website, I got a message to say the site doesn't exist!


Perhaps you could insert a link to your Entry on Anglo-Saxon


Ref cucumber and Eczema

It can be drunk as part of diet or applied topically.

The following site is interestinbg w.r.t. topical application

E.g. http://flutterbyearomatics.com/herbal_soaps.htm

A