Editing Rhubarb (section)

== Etymology ==

The word ''rhubarb'' is likely to have derived in the 14th century from the [[Old French]] {{lang|fr|rubarbe}}, which came from the Latin {{lang|la|rheubarbarum}} and [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{transliteration|grc|rha barbaron}}, meaning 'foreign rhubarb'.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rhubarb|publisher= Online Etymology Dictionary, Douglas Harper Inc.|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/rhubarb|date=2020|access-date=3 June 2020}}</ref> The Greek physician [[Pedanius Dioscorides|Dioscorides]] used the Greek word {{lang|grc|ῥᾶ}} ({{transliteration|grc|rha}}), whereas [[Galen]] later used {{lang|grc|ῥῆον}} ({{transliteration|grc|rhēon}}), Latin {{lang|la|rheum}}. These in turn derive from a [[Persian language|Persian]] name for species of [[Rheum (plant)|''Rheum'']].<ref name=Gilb55>{{Citation |mode=cs1 |last1=Gilbert-Carter |first1=H. |date=1955 |title=Glossary of the British Flora |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=69}}</ref> The specific epithet ''rhaponticum'', applying to one of the presumed parents of the cultivated plant, means 'rha from the [[Pontus (region)|region of the Black Sea]]'<ref name=Gilb55/> or the river [[Volga]], Rha being its ancient name.<ref>{{cite book |last=Theroux |first=Alexander |date=2017 |title=Einstein's Beets |url= |location= |publisher=Fantagraphics Books, Seattle Washington |page= 47|isbn=978-1-60699-976-9}}</ref>