melanzana f (plural melanzane)
From Arabic بَاذِنْجَان (bāḏinjān), from now archaic Persian بادنگان (bâdengân), from Sanskrit भण्टाकी (bhaṇṭākī, “aubergine”), reshaped under the influence of mela (“apple”). Compare Modern Greek μελιτζάνα (melitzána), Sicilian milinciana and Medieval Latin mēlongena.
