sorbus

Forms

sorbus f (genitive sorbī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[2][1] Pokorny linked Russian сорбали́на (sorbalína, “rose hip, blackberry”) and Lithuanian serbentà (“currant”) and reconstructed a root *ser- “red”; de Vaan thinks the connection possible but at most points to a non-Indo-European word *sVrb- for “berry”.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan finds the berry sorbum from Cato and the tree from Veranius.^[2] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was the service tree, Sorbus domestica, and allied species, described by Columella and Pliny the Elder; its fruit was sorbum.^[4][5][2] It was also spelled sorvus.^[4]

It survives in Italian sorbo and French sorbier.^[1] A Vulgar Latin *sorbea gave Old English syrfe and Old French sorbe, whence the tree name English service, recorded in the 1520s.^[6]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato mentions the service berry, sorbum.^[2][3]
• 1st century AD – Columella describes the tree.^[5][3]
• 1520s – English service as a tree name is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The service tree, Sorbus domestica.^[4][5]

Related words

• sorbum
• English service
• English sorb

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com