Etymologically
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fragum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfraː.ɡũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfraː.ɡum][1]

Forms

frāgum n (genitive frāgī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *frāgo-.[2] De Vaan notes that its meaning closely matches that of Albanian dredhë (“strawberry”) (Tosk) and drathe (Eastern Geg), and that both may go back to Proto-Indo-European *dʰrHǵ-o-.[2] He thinks it unlikely, however, that the word meant “strawberry” in Proto-Indo-European, and says it may well be a loanword.[2] A connection with Ancient Greek ῥώξ (rhṓx, “grape”) and ῥάξ (rháx) is also possible, but the sound shapes and the different meanings would then point to a third, perhaps non-Indo-European, language as the source of both.[2][1] The OLD calls the origin doubtful,[3] and Köbler unclear.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Virgil,[2][4] in the plural frāga, of strawberries growing on the ground, in the Eclogues.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin the word is nearly always plural, frāga, the wild strawberries gathered in woods and fields, as in Ovid, Seneca and Pliny the Elder.[3][5][6] The singular frāgum appears in the herbal ascribed to Apuleius, for the strawberry plant.[5][7]

Medieval glossaries translate it with vernacular words for strawberries and other berries,[4][8] and in Poland it was also used for the blackberry.[9] Lewis and Short give French fraise as its descendant.[5]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil mentions strawberries in the Eclogues.[5][6][4]
  • 43 BC–AD 18 – Ovid names them among the foods of the Golden Age in the Metamorphoses.[5]
  • 4 BC–AD 65 – Seneca mentions them in a tragedy.[5]
  • AD 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder has them in his Natural History.[5][6]
  • early 11th century – Glosses render it with Old Saxon and Old High German words for berries.[4]
  • late 15th century – A Polish source uses it for the blackberry.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (usually plural) The wild strawberry (Fragaria vesca).[3][5][6]
  2. (singular) The strawberry plant.[5][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Other berries, such as the raspberry or the blackberry.[4][9]

Usage notes

The OLD and Lewis and Short head the word under the plural frāga, which is the usual form.[3][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl