pomus

Forms

pōmus f (genitive pōmī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2] It is perhaps inherited from Proto-Italic *po-e/omo- (“taken off, picked”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁e/om-o- (“what is (to be) taken”), as de Vaan suggests with a question mark, treating it together with pōmum;^[2] he finds ⟨*po-omo-⟩ or ⟨*pe-omo-⟩ just as conceivable, and thinks the Umbrian ⟨puemun-⟩ probably does not belong here.^[2] Wiktionary gives *poomos, from *h₂po-h₁ém-os (“taken off”), built on *h₂epo (“off”) and *h₁em- (“to take”), the root of emō, and compares the same development in Greek καρπός (karpós, “fruit”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Cato on;^[2][3] Pliny the Elder quotes Cato using it for fruit.^[4][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The usual sense was a fruit tree of any kind, as in Tibullus and in the Vulgate’s Song of Songs,^[4][6] beside the occasional sense “fruit”, the meaning of the neuter pōmum.^[4][5] In medieval British Latin it meant a fruit tree or specifically an apple tree, glossed in English as “apple tree”, and also fruit.^[7]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for fruit.^[4][5][3]
• c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus uses it for a fruit tree.^[4][6][3]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for fruit trees in the Song of Songs.^[4][6][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fruit tree.^[4][5][6]
2. Fruit (as pōmum).^[4][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) An apple tree.^[7]

Related words

• pōmum
• emō

References

1. ^ a b 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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