Etymologically
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acernus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [aˈkɛr.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [aˈt͡ʃɛr.nus][1]

Forms

acernus (feminine acerna, neuter acernum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin acer1 (“maple”) + -nus;[2][3] Priscian notes the derivation.[3] De Vaan traces acer1 to Proto-Italic *ak-er- and connects Old High German ahorn (“maple”), but finds further connections uncertain; it may be a non-Indo-European tree name borrowed into Greek and Latin, compare Ancient Greek ἄκαστος (ákastos, “maple”) in Hesychius.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Virgil,[4][5] who has a horse built of maple beams, equus trabibus contextus acernis.[6]

Semantic evolution

It means of the maple tree, and especially made of maplewood:[2] Virgil has a maple throne, Horace a maple table, Propertius a rampart of maple and Ovid a cow of maple wood.[2] Ovid also has maple branches and a maple trunk.[3] Venantius Fortunatus uses acernus as a noun for the maple tree itself.[3]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of a horse built of maple beams and a maple throne.[2][6][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace, of a maple table.[2][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius, of a maple rampart.[2][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid, of maple branches and a maple cow.[2][3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the maple tree;[2] made of maplewood.[2][6][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press