myrte

Forms

myrte m (plural myrtes)^[1] First written mirte (1256); the spelling myrte is recorded from 1512.^[2][3] In the 16th century it appears in many forms, among them myrtre, meurte, meurtre, murte and the feminine mirthe.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin myrtus (“myrtle”) (also murtus),^[5][4][6][1] an early Latinized loan from Ancient Greek μύρτος (múrtos, “myrtle, myrtle branch”).^[4][6][3]

The further origin of the Greek word is unclear.^[4] A borrowing from Semitic has been proposed, on the strength of a vague likeness to the Semitic word behind myrrhe;^[4] Rey thinks instead that the group may come from Asia Minor, citing the name Mursilos on Lesbos and the Hittite name Mursilis.^[4] Littré connected it with Ancient Greek μύρον (múron, “perfume”).^[7]

Cognate with Occitan mirt, Spanish mirto and Italian mirto.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1256, as mirte, in Aldebrandin de Sienne's Régime du corps, a treatise on health, naming the shrub.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the shrub and, in literary use, its foliage.^[4] Because the ancients consecrated the myrtle to Venus, it became a symbol of love, first in Ronsard's Amours in 1552;^[5][4] the poets of the Pléiade (Ronsard, Belleau, Baïf) also liked the derived adjectives myrthin, myrté and myrteux.^[4] The GLLF dates the poetic sense “myrtle leaves” as an emblem of love or glory to Corneille in 1635.^[3]

Botanists later extended the name to related or similar plants, such as the allspice tree (myrte piment) and butcher's broom (myrte épineux).^[8][7]

Timeline

• c. 1256 – Mirte appears in Aldebrandin de Sienne's Régime du corps.^[5][3]
• 1512 – The spelling myrte is recorded.^[2]
• 1552 – Ronsard uses the myrtle as a symbol of love in his Amours.^[5][4]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres writes murte ou myrte in his work on agriculture.^[3][7]
• 1721 – The derivative myrtiforme “myrtle-leaf-shaped” is recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. myrtle, an evergreen Mediterranean shrub of the genus Myrtus, with small leathery leaves and fragrant white flowers.^[8][5][1]
2. (Antiquity, poetic) Myrtle leaves or a myrtle wreath, an emblem of love or glory: une guirlande de myrte.^[8][3]
3. In plant names, related or similar shrubs: myrte piment (the allspice tree), myrte épineux (butcher's broom).^[8][7]

Word family

• myrtiforme

Related words

• Latin myrtus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert