j’ouvre le dictionnaire
et je lis: “n.f. (1892; du somali ouabaïo).
m.d. L’un des glucosides cardiotoniques…
extrait des graines du strophante glabre”
voilà la seule contribution detectable du somali
au français
I open the dictionary, read
in French: “n.f. (1892; from Somali ouabaïo).
medicine. One of the cardiotonic glucosides…
extracted from seeds of the glabrous strophanthus shrub”
this is Somali’s only clear contribution
to French
Translated from French by Nancy Naomi Carlson
Translator’s note: Historically, strophanthus seeds were used as a source of arrow poison.
The abbreviation “n.f.” stands for a feminine noun.