Etymologically
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cerasus

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Forms

cerasus f (genitive cerasī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κερασός (kerasós, “cherry tree”).[2][3][1] The Greek word is thought to come from Asia Minor: Wiktionary and Etymonline, citing Beekes, take it to be probably Anatolian, since the cultivated cherry came from the region of Pontus,[1][4] and Köbler calls it either a word from Asia Minor or a Phrygian or Dacian loanword.[5] The neuter ⟨cerasum⟩ is used for the fruit.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Varro,[5] who says that cherry trees are grafted in midwinter.[2]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short, following Pliny the Elder and Servius, report that Lucullus brought the cherry tree to Italy from the town of Cerasus in Pontus.[6] Besides the tree it means its wood or bark, in Persius, and the fruit, in Propertius, who sets sweet cherries beside autumn plums; in prose the fruit is usually the neuter ⟨cerasum⟩, as in Celsus.[2][6]

In Britain glossaries render it with Old English words for the cherry tree, and an account of 1275 records a payment to a gardener for cherry trees.[3] From a Vulgar Latin form *ceresia come French cerise and, through Anglo-French ⟨cherise⟩, English cherry (c. 1300).[4] Italian ceraso and Spanish cerezo continue the word itself.[1]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro writes of grafting the cherry tree.[2][5]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of the fruit.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder tells how the tree came to Italy.[6][5]
  • 1275 – An account records a payment to a gardener for cherry trees.[3]
  • c. 1300 – English cherry is recorded, from the Vulgar Latin form through French.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The cherry tree.[2][6][3]
  2. Cherry bark; cherrywood.[2]
  3. The cherry (the fruit).[2][6]

Usage notes

Cerasūs (genitive Cerasūntis) is the town in Pontus from which the cherry was said to come, in Pomponius Mela and Pliny.[6][7]

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 Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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 d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften