Etymologically
Log in

morum

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 18:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmoː.rũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɔː.rum][1]

Forms

mōrum n (genitive mōrī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Ancient Greek μόρον (móron, “black mulberry, blackberry”), though its long ⟨ō⟩ is unexpected.[1][2][3] The OLD compares Greek ⟨móron⟩ and Old Armenian մոր (mor, “blackberry”), and the Thesaurus suggests that Greeks, Latins and Armenians may all have taken the word from another language.[4][5] Etymonline traces it to Proto-Indo-European *moro- (“blackberry, mulberry”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Varro, whom he dates 116–27 BC, and the OLD's first citation for the blackberry is from Varro.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It was the fruit of the black mulberry, as in Horace's nigra mōra, and a blackberry or similar hedge fruit, as in Varro and Ovid.[4][7][3]

British Medieval Latin used it also for an ulcer resembling a mulberry.[8] It is continued in Proto-Romance, with French mûre, Italian mora and Spanish mora.[9][1] Old High German mūrberi and English mulberry (about 1300) are formed from it with “berry”.[6]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the blackberry.[4][2]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of the mulberry.[4][2]
  • c. 1300 – English mulberry is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mulberry, the fruit of the black mulberry.[4]
  2. A blackberry or similar fruit.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  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. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom