PAL

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus

_ (the underscore) is the placeholder for exactly one character.
% (the percent sign) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character.
%% (two percent signs) is the placeholder for no, one or more than one character, but not for blank space (so that a search ends at word boundaries).

At the beginning and at the end, these placeholders are superfluous.

جهة فلك التدوير ‘epicyclic hypothesis’

Arabic

References: Alm. MS Leiden: f. 38v
Translation of:
Greek: κατ’ ἐπίκυκλον ὑπόθεσις [Alm. Heiberg: III.3, 217:25, 219:25]