Etymologically
Log in

quercus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:10. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkʷɛr.kʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkʷɛr.kus][1]

Forms

quercus f (genitive quercūs or quercī); variously declined, fourth declension, second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kʷerkʷu/o-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *perkʷ-o/u- (“kind of oak”), with the Italo-Celtic assimilation of *p … kʷ to *kʷ … kʷ.[2][1] Cognate with Old High German fereheih (“kind of oak”) and Lombardic fereha, and with Old Norse fýri (“fir forest”) and English fir.[2][3][1] De Vaan follows Schaffner in rejecting a link with Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍈𐌿𐍃 (fairƕus, “world”) and with Lithuanian perkūnas (“thunder”).[2] Isidore of Seville derived it from quaerō “to seek”, since the pagan gods gave answers to seekers from oaks.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius, who describes oaks and holm oaks being felled.[2][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant an oak, especially the common oak, then oak timber, which Vitruvius says lasts forever when buried.[3] In poetry it meant a garland of oak leaves, the civic crown, and also the ship Argo or a javelin.[3][6] It was mostly a fourth-declension noun, with second-declension forms such as quercō in Varro.[3]

It survives in Italian quercia.[1]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius describes oaks being felled.[3][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro has the ablative quercō.[3][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville derives it from quaerere.[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An oak, oak tree.[3]
  2. Oak timber.[3]
  3. (poetic) A garland of oak leaves, the civic crown.[3]

Word family

  • querceus
  • quercī̆nus
  • querneus
  • querquētum
  • quernus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.