Unknown chain of etymology, but based on the era of Aramaic equivalents which are taken to be Arabisms and its absence from earlier Semitic languages, the dating seems to suggest the Abbasid Era, a period with great Iranian court influence. Ultimately being derived from Middle Persian hndwtn' (/handūdan/), its stem hndʾd (/*handāy-, *hannāy-/, “to smear, to plaster, to anoint”); a semantic cognate or calque translation with its Semitic equivalent the Qur'anic Arabic كَافُور (kāfūr, “Lawsonia inermis; alternatively identified as camphor”), from Arabic كَفَرَ (kafara, “to cover over”), a root connection found all across Semitic languages.
Compare Akkadian 𒇒𒌓𒀀 (kupru, “bitumen, pitch”), from Akkadian 𒅗𒉺𒊒 (kapāru, “to smear, to daub on”), Hebrew כֹּפֶר / כּוֺפֶר (kōp̱er, “pitch, tar; henna”), Aramaic כּוּפְרָא, Classical Syriac ܟܘܦܪܐ (kūp̄rā, “pitch, tar; henna”), Ugaritic 𐎋𐎔𐎗 (kpr, “henna”). For the Iranian compare Manichaean Middle Persian ʾnwdg (annōdag, “the anointed one, Messiah”), and Persian اندودن (andudan, “to besmear, to coat”).
حِنَّاء • (ḥinnāʔ) m (plural حُنْآن (ḥunʔān))
| Singular | basic singular triptote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Definite | Construct | |
| Informal | حِنَّاء ḥinnāʔ |
الْحِنَّاء al-ḥinnāʔ |
حِنَّاء ḥinnāʔ |
| Nominative | حِنَّاءٌ ḥinnāʔun |
الْحِنَّاءُ al-ḥinnāʔu |
حِنَّاءُ ḥinnāʔu |
| Accusative | حِنَّاءً ḥinnāʔan |
الْحِنَّاءَ al-ḥinnāʔa |
حِنَّاءَ ḥinnāʔa |
| Genitive | حِنَّاءٍ ḥinnāʔin |
الْحِنَّاءِ al-ḥinnāʔi |
حِنَّاءِ ḥinnāʔi |
حَنَاء • (ḥanāʔ) m
| Singular | basic singular triptote | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Definite | Construct | |
| Informal | حَنَاء ḥanāʔ |
الْحَنَاء al-ḥanāʔ |
حَنَاء ḥanāʔ |
| Nominative | حَنَاءٌ ḥanāʔun |
الْحَنَاءُ al-ḥanāʔu |
حَنَاءُ ḥanāʔu |
| Accusative | حَنَاءً ḥanāʔan |
الْحَنَاءَ al-ḥanāʔa |
حَنَاءَ ḥanāʔa |
| Genitive | حَنَاءٍ ḥanāʔin |
الْحَنَاءِ al-ḥanāʔi |
حَنَاءِ ḥanāʔi |