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From online etymology dictionary http://www.etymonline.com/ :

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gentian (the flower)
O.E., from L. gentiana, said by Pliny to be named for Gentius, king of ancient Illyria who discovered its properties. This is likely a folk-etymology, but the word may be Illyrian, since the suffix -an frequently occurs in Illyrian words.

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Also it says: Latin gentius is "(well)-born" (in the entry for gingerly).

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Aboutnames.com claims the Albanian name is from the Latin root, but the author of that site does not list any sources that I could find. You could contact him to ask - his email is on the site.

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http://www.aboutnames.ch/albanian.htm#gnGentian
http://www.aboutnames.ch/contact.htm

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- chazda

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