granatum

Forms

grānātum n (genitive grānātī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin grānātus (“containing many seeds”), its neuter used as a noun, short for the phrase ⟨mālum grānātum⟩ or ⟨pōmum grānātum⟩, the “seedy apple”.^[2][1][3] The adjective is formed grānum (“grain, seed”) with the suffix -ātus.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Columella uses grānātum alone for the pomegranate, beside the full phrase mālum grānātum.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The OLD records the word for both the fruit and the pomegranate tree.^[2] It was used by Pliny the Elder and Palladius,^[3] and the DMLBS records it in British works of natural science.^[5] Medieval Latin granatum also meant a garnet or a dark red colour, perhaps from the colour of the fruit's seeds, and is the source of English garnet.^[6]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Columella uses grānātum for the pomegranate.^[3][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it in his Natural History.^[3][4]
• early 14th century – English gernet (later garnet) goes back, through Old French, to Medieval Latin granatum “garnet”.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pomegranate (the fruit); also the pomegranate tree.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A garnet; a dark red colour.^[6]

Word family

• mālogrānātum

Related words

• English garnet
• English grenade

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com