ficus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfiː.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfiː.kus]^[1]

Forms

fīcus m or f (genitive fīcī or fīcūs); variously declined, second declension, fourth declension^[1] It is declined in the second and the fourth declension; it is feminine, occasionally masculine, as in Cato and Lucilius.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a loanword from an unknown Mediterranean language, perhaps taken into pre-Latin as ⟨*θūko-⟩ or ⟨*θīko-⟩.^[4][2][1] It is related to Ancient Greek σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”), Boeotian ⟨τῦκον⟩, and Old Armenian թուզ (tʻuz, “fig”).^[4][2] Wiktionary considers a Semitic source, comparing Biblical Hebrew פַּג (paḡ, “unripe fig”).^[1][5] Isidore derived it from ⟨fēcunditās⟩ “fruitfulness”, since the tree bears several times a year.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Ennius, of the fig tree.^[2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant the fig tree, as the fīcus Rūminālis under which Romulus and Remus were said to have been exposed, and in Pliny the Elder also the banyan.^[2] From Plautus it meant the fruit, the fig, and prīma fīcus the time when figs begin to ripen, early autumn.^[2] In Martial it meant piles, haemorrhoids, and a masculine fīcus a wart.^[2][8] Lewis and Short note that its declension and gender were already disputed by ancient grammarians.^[3]

British Medieval Latin used it of the fig tree, often with reference to the fig trees of the Bible.^[9] Vulgar Latin ⟨*fīca⟩ gave Italian fico, Spanish higo and Portuguese figo, and through Old Provençal figa and Old French figue it gave English fig in the early 13th century; English ficus was borrowed about 1400, and Linnaeus made Ficus a genus name in 1753.^[1][5]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of the fig tree.^[2][7]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the fruit.^[2][7]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of haemorrhoids.^[2][7]
• early 13th century – English fig is recorded.^[5]
• c. 1400 – English ficus is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fig tree; the banyan.^[2]
2. A fig, the fruit.^[2]
3. In the plural, haemorrhoids, piles.^[2]

Word family

• caprifīcus
• fīcārius
• fīcātum
• fīcedula
• fīcētum
• fīcōsus
• fīculea

Related words

• English fig
• English ficus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ 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