Name origin
Applied to α Cep since medieval times. The derivation understood since Renaissance times was from al-dhira (al-)yamin, "the Right Forearm," an assumed sci-A descriptive term for α Cep. But this is apparently erroneous. Firstly, in the Almagest, α Cep is described on the right "shoulder" (Arabic al-katif or al-mankib) of Cepheus, whereas no right "forearm" (al-dhira<) is described for the figure. Secondly, in Arabic, "right forearm" is spelled correctly as al-dhira al-yumna, which (in contrast to al-yamin) lacks assonance in the last syllable to Alderamin. Therefore, it is more likely that Alderamin is derived from the various medieval Western abbreviations of muqaddam al-dhira<ain, "the Preceding One of the Two Cubits, or Forearms," which was a sci-A name (based on ind-A) for α Gem. This would have been wrongly transferred to α Cep in medieval times.
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