Henna or a related plant used for dying hair and skin, particularly in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures.
From Arabic al-ḥinnā or related forms, traveling through medieval European languages as a word for the plant and its reddish dye.
Alcanna traveled the same trade routes as the spice trade—Europeans knew the word centuries before understanding how intricately woven it was into wedding traditions and cultural identity across the Islamic world.
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