Editing Dacian language (section)

===Plant names===
{{Expand section|date=March 2011}}
{{Main|List of Dacian plant names}}
[[File:Dioscorides De Materia Medica Byzantium 15th century.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dioscorides]], ''[[De Materia Medica (Dioscorides)|De Materia Medica]]'', [[Byzantium]], 15th century.]]

In ancient literary sources, the [[List of Dacian plant names|Dacian names]] for a number of medicinal plants and herbs survive in ancient texts,{{sfn|Dioscorides}}{{sfn|Pseudo-Apuleius}} including about 60 plant names in Dioscorides.{{sfn|Price|1998|p=120}} The Greek physician [[Pedanius Dioscorides]], of [[Anazarbus]] in Asia Minor, wrote the medical textbook ''[[De Materia Medica (Dioscorides)|De Materia Medica]]'' ({{langx|grc|Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς}}) in the mid-1st century AD. In Wellmann's opinion (1913), accepted by Russu (1967), the Dacian plant names were added in the 3rd century AD from a glossary published by the Greek grammarian [[Pamphilus of Alexandria|Pamphilus of Alexandria (1st century AD)]].{{sfn|Russu|1967|p=45}} The Dacian glosses were probably added to the [[Pseudo-Apuleius]] texts by the 4th century. The mixture of indigenous Dacian, Latin and Greek words in the lists of Dacian plant names may be explained by a linguistic crossing process occurring in that period.{{sfn|Rosetti|Graur|1969|p=315}}

Although many Dacian toponyms have uncertain meanings, they are more reliable as sources of Dacian words than the names of medicinal plants provided by Dioscorides, which have led to speculative identifications: out of 57 plants, 25 identifications may be erroneous, according to Asher & Simpson.{{sfn|Asher|Simpson|1994|p=1665}} According to the Bulgarian linguist Decev, of the 42 supposedly Dacian plant names in Dioscorides only 25 are truly Dacian, while 10 are Latin and 7 Greek. Also, of the 31 "Dacian" plant names recorded by Pseudo-Apuleius, 16 are really Dacian, 9 are Latin and 8 are Greek.{{sfn|Rosetti|Graur|1969|p=315}}

Examples of common Dacian, Latin and Greek words in [[Pseudo-Apuleius]]:
* Dacian ''blis'' and Latin ''blitum'' (from Greek ''bliton'' for [[purple amaranth]]{{sfn|Poghirc|1986|p=348}}
* Dacian ''amolusta'' and [[Oscan language|Campanian]] ''amolocia'' for [[chamomile]]{{sfn|Poghirc|1986|p=348}}{{sfn|Pelletier|1985|p=81|loc=Campani amolocia Tusci abiana Daci amolusta (Pseudo-Apuleius, 23)}}
* Dacian ''dracontos'' and [[Italic languages|Italic]] ''dracontes'' for [[rosemary]]{{sfn|Poghirc|1986|p=348}}