Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - galangal

 noun  Etymology: Middle English galingale, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin galingala, galanga, from Arabic khalanjan, khulunjan  Date: 13th century  1. either of two eastern Asian perennial herbs (Alpinia galanga and A. officinarum) of the ginger family with dark green sword-shaped leaves and pungent aromatic rhizomes  2. the fresh, dried, or ground rhizome of a ~ used in cookery as a spice and in medicine