A Mediterranean plant whose roots produce a red dye, or the dye itself used in cosmetics and food coloring. It's the same plant as alkanna but with a diminutive suffix.
From Arabic al-ḥinnāʾ meaning 'the henna' with the diminutive suffix -et added in Old French. The word entered English via Old French alcanette in the 14th century. Despite the name connection to henna, alkanet comes from an entirely different plant family.
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