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Ojalá
Words
Certain: The standard etymology in the RAE dictionary and in Corriente; no serious doubt.Plants & animals · Common

arrayán

myrtlemirto, arbusto de hojas aromáticas

Comes from Arabic

الرَّيْحَان

ar-rayḥān

“fragrant plant (in al-Andalus, myrtle)”«planta aromática (en al-Andalus, el mirto)»

Arabic today says

آس

ās

Root

ر و ح

r-w-ḥ

The article

Spanish kept the Arabic article al- glued to the word.

The story

Rayḥān is "fragrant plant"; in al-Andalus it was myrtle, and in the Middle East today it is basil. The Court of the Myrtles in the Alhambra is named after it.Rayḥān es «planta olorosa»; en al-Andalus era el mirto, y hoy en Oriente es la albahaca. El Patio de los Arrayanes de la Alhambra lleva su nombre.

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