pinifer

Forms

pīnifer (feminine pīnifera, neuter pīniferum); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pīnus (“pine”) + -fer (“bearing”),^[2][1] with the second part from ferō (“to carry, bear”).^[3][4] De Vaan finds several etymologies possible for pīnus: it may share a base with Ancient Greek πίναξ (pínax, “board, plank”) or a root with πίτυς (pítus, “pine”), and may well be a non-Indo-European tree name; a connection with pix (“pitch”) is attractive in meaning, since pines are known for their resin.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Virgil,^[6][3] who in the Eclogues calls Mount Maenalus pīnifer.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

It is a poetic epithet, mostly of mountains covered with pines:^[3] Virgil uses it of the head of Atlas, Seneca of Olympus, Lucan of Ossa, Silius of the Apennines and Statius of Ida.^[3][7] Ovid applies it to gardens laid out on hills.^[3] The OLD also notes an apparent sense of carrying pine.^[2]

Medieval poets kept it: Aldhelm speaks of pine-bearing mountains,^[8] and the NGML, which defines its medieval sense as bearing pine cones, cites Dicuil quoting Virgil's line on Atlas and Bernardus Silvestris.^[9] It passed into Italian as pinifero and into French as pinifère.^[1]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil calls Maenalus and Atlas pīnifer.^[3][6]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of gardens on hills.^[3][6]
• 39–65 AD – Lucan uses it of Mount Ossa.^[3][6]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses it of Mount Ida.^[7][6]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm writes of pine-bearing mountains.^[8][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Producing pine trees, covered with pines.^[2][7][10]
2. Carrying or bearing pine.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) Bearing pine cones.^[9]

Related words

• pīnus
• pīneus

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 f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b 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 Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
10. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier