'alhandal' originates from Arabic, specifically the word 'al-ḥanẓal,' where 'al-' is the definite article and 'ḥanẓal' referred to the colocynth plant.

'al-ḥanẓal' was adopted into Medieval Latin as 'alhandalus,' and eventually became the modern English word 'alhandal.'

Initially, it referred specifically to the colocynth plant, and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.