osera

Forms

osera, also oseria and osiera; first declension^[1]

Etymology

According to the DMLBS it is borrowed from Middle English oser or Old French oser, and the variant ⟨osiera⟩ comes from Middle English or Old French osier.^[1] Etymonline sees it the other way round: Old French ⟨osier⟩ comes partly from the Medieval Latin word, which is of unknown origin, perhaps Gaulish, and Old English had oser from Medieval Latin.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record in the DMLBS, from the cartulary of Tutbury before 1140, grants the branches of willows and of the osiers that hang over the water.^[1]

Semantic evolution

It stayed a word of English records: estate and royal accounts of the 13th and 14th centuries enter osiers sold and wages for stripping them.^[1] English osier is first recorded about 1300, for a willow switch.^[2]

Timeline

• before 1140 – The Tutbury cartulary grants willow branches and osiers.^[1]
• 1296 – The form oseria appears in accounts of osiers sold at Castleford.^[1]
• c. 1300 – English has osier for a willow switch.^[2]
• 1344 – The form osiera appears in accounts paying boys to strip osiers.^[1]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) osier, withy, a willow with flexible shoots.^[1][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com