Where does “alka rqiqa” come from?

alka rqiqa (Maltese) comes from Maltese rqiq, from Arabic رَقِيق — thin, slim; delicate; soft.

alka rqiqa (Maltese): little Neptune grass, Cymodocea nodosa

Definitions

  1. little Neptune grass, Cymodocea nodosa

Ancestry of “alka rqiqa”, step by step

alka rqiqa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Maltese rqiq

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malteserqiqthin
2Arabicرَقِيقthin, slim; delicate; soft

via Proto-Uralic alka-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Uralicalka-beginning
Every word from Arabic رَقِيق →Every word from Maltese rqiq →