yellow, white tulips and Origin of the tulip name

yellow tulips and white tulip, istanbul tulip festival, istanbul, pentax k10d

close-up composition with yellow-white tulips.

Origin of the tulip name

Although tulips are associated with Holland, both the flower and its name originated in the Ottoman Empire. The tulip, or lale (from Persian لاله, lâleh) as it is called in Turkey, is a flower indigenous to Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey and other parts of Central Asia. After being described in a letter by the Dutch ambassador in Turkey in the 16th century, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, who was also a great floral enthusiast, tulips were brought to Europe in the 16th century; the word tulip, which earlier in English appeared in such forms as tulipa or tulipant, entered the language by way of French tulipe and its obsolete form tulipan or by way of Modern Latin tulīpa, from Ottoman Turkish tülbend, “muslin, gauze”. (The English word turban, first recorded in English in the 16th century, can also be traced to Ottoman Turkish tülbend.)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

taken by Pentax K10D, at Istanbul

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