Etymologically
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pinus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpiː.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiː.nus][1]

Forms

pīnus f (genitive pīnūs or pīnī); variously declined, fourth declension, second declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2][1] It may share a base with Ancient Greek πίναξ (pínax, “board, plank”) or come from the same root as Ancient Greek πίτυς (pítus, “pine”) and Albanian pishë (“pine”), perhaps a non-Indo-European tree name.[2][3] De Vaan finds a connection with pix “pitch”, from *pik-sno-, attractive, since pines are known for their resin, and Köbler also refers to pix.[2][4] Isidore derived it from an old word pinnum “sharp”, for its pointed needles.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius, whose tall pines fall to the axe.[2][4][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It was a pine tree of one kind or another, as Virgil's pine, the loveliest in gardens, and Horace's pine of Pontus, and also pine foliage and pinewood.[3] By metonymy it was a ship, as Virgil's nautical pine that will no longer trade goods, a mast, an oar, and a pinewood torch.[3]

It survives in Italian pino, French pin and Spanish pino, and English pine goes back to Old English pīn and French pin.[1][6] Linnaeus made Pinus the name of the genus.[7]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of tall pines.[3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a ship.[3][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of pinewood.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pine tree; pine foliage; pinewood.[3]
  2. (by metonymy) A ship; a mast; an oar; a pinewood torch.[3]

Word family

  • pīnaster
  • pīnētum
  • pīneus
  • pīnifer
  • pīniger
  • pīnastellus
  • pīnea
  • pīneum

Usage notes

It is declined both in the fourth and the second declension: pīnūs and pīnī.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press