Soma (drink)
1. the word may ultimately come from Turkic qumlaq/xumlaq ("hop"). The word is thought to be borrowed into Scythic *xumallag and Ossetian хуымӕллӕг. The Turkic word may be related to the Germanic word for 'hops', compare Old Norse humli, humla, humall. Either from Turkic or Germanic it has been borrowed into Latin humulus, Greek χουβέλι and Slavic xъmeľь.Starostin, Sergei; Dybo, Anna; Mudrak, Oleg (2003), “*Kumlak”, in  (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill The Iranian derivation of Osset. xumälläg 'hop', however, raises some phonetic and morphological problems and is therefore to be considered rather weak. The ultimate Turkic source of the Volga-Finnic, Iranian and other late European names for 'hop' can not be excluded.Riho Grünthal, Johanna Laakso, Oekeeta asijoo: "Commentationes Fenno-Ugricae in honorem Seppo Suhonen sexagenarii 16.V.1998, Volume 1998", Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, 1998 p.5 quote: "Among the Volga-Finnic languages Mordvin shows komula, while others, like Cheremis, have borrowed umla ~ əməla through Turkic. [...] Indian scholars derived the form soma from a root *su- 'to press', but it could not be the Humulus lupulus, since this has flavour but does not possess any intoxicating qualities. It has also been said that Humulus did not grow wild in India. [...]. Vasmer (R. Sl. VI p. 174) also admitted the possibility of deriving xiiméli from Iranian, but in REW III p. 250 f. he regarded it as “nicht annehmbar”. Räsänen in TEW derived all words from Turkic, and Hubschmid and others followed him. The renowned Swedish orientalist and historian of religion, H. S. Nyberg, supported the Opinion that the plant in question was Cannabis sativa, or hemp. The Swedish school of Iranists has in general accepted this interpretation of the haoma ~ soma."