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morus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word morus

morus1 foolish

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek μωρός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek μωρός
Etymology tree of morus1
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek μωρός
Latin morus
From the same root · morus1
English oxymoron ← μωρός

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmoː.rʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmɔː.rus][1]

Forms

mōrus (feminine mōra, neuter mōrum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The adjective “foolish” is borrowed from Ancient Greek μωρός (mōrós, “foolish”).[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Plautus, in the Trinummus and the Menaechmi,[4][5] meaning foolish or silly.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a word of Plautus' comedy.[3] In the Trinummus love is said to make people's ways moros et morosos, foolish and peevish,[3] and it was used as a noun, morus “a fool” and mora “a foolish woman”.[3][6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it as an adjective and as a noun for a fool.[3][6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Foolish, silly.[2][3]

Noun

  1. A fool;[3][6] (feminine) a foolish woman.[3][6]

morus2 black mulberry tree

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
43 BC–18 AD, Ovid
Ultimate origin
Latin mōrum
Etymology tree of morus2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin morum
Latin morus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmoː.rʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmɔː.rus][1]

Forms

mōrus f (genitive mōrī); second declension[1]

Etymology

The tree is from Latin mōrum (“mulberry”),[2][6][1] which the TLL compares with mālus2 (“apple tree”) and mālum2 (“apple”).[7] Lewis and Short and Georges equate it with Ancient Greek μορέα (moréā, “mulberry tree”), and Wiktionary allows a borrowing from the Greek as an alternative.[3][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ovid has it in the Metamorphoses:[4][5] arbor ibi, niveis uberrima pomis, ardua morus erat, “there stood a tree, a tall mulberry heavy with snow-white fruit”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder uses it for the black mulberry,[2][6] the tree whose fruit is the mōrum.[2] Isidore of Seville says that it is called morus by the Greeks and rubus by the Latins.[7] It is the source of Italian moro and Romanian mur.[7]

Timeline

  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid writes of a tall mulberry with white fruit.[3][4][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for the mulberry tree.[6][4][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the name.[7][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The black mulberry tree, Morus nigra.[2][3][8]
  • mōriō

Usage notes

In Medieval Latin morus (also mora) is a separate word for a moor or marsh, of Germanic origin.[9][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Morus.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/morus. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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