sorva

Forms

sorva f (plural sorvas)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sorba, the plural of sorbum (“serviceberry, sorb”), taken as a feminine singular.^{[2][3][4][1][5]}

The same Latin word is Galician sorba, Spanish serba and Old Occitan sorba, from which French sorbe was borrowed.^[1][6] Corominas notes that the stressed vowel of the Spanish, Catalan and Galician forms with /e/ does not fit the Latin word, which must have crossed with another name of the fruit.^[7]

The Latin word is of doubtful origin; the OLD compares, with hesitation, sārts (“red-faced”).^[8] The DHLF calls it of unknown origin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss's first record is of 1531–1532, for the fruit of the sorveira.^[2] Barbosa's dictionary of 1611 uses sorva both for the tree, Latin sorbus, and for its fruit, Latin sorbum.^[9]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau and Folqman define the word as the fruit of the service tree.^[10][11] In Brazil the name was given to trees of the genus Couma with edible fruits and a milky latex: Houaiss dates this sense to 1899.^[2][12] Aurélio adds a third sense, the balata made from the latex of the sorva-pequena.^[12] Cunha records the derivatives sorveira and sorval in 1813 and sorvalhada “a heap of fallen fruit” in 1881.^[3]

Timeline

• 1531–1532 – first record.^[2]
• 1611 – Barbosa lists the tree and its fruit.^[9]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau defines it as the fruit of the sorveyra.^[10]
• 1813 – first records of sorveira, sorval and sorvar.^[3]
• 1899 – the sense “a Brazilian tree of the genus Couma”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The fruit of the sorveira or service tree (Sorbus domestica), a sorb.^[2][5][1]
2. The service tree itself.^[5][1]
3. (Brazil) A tree of the genus Couma of the rainforest, with small edible fruits and a bitter latex, or its fruit.^[2][12][13]
4. (Brazil) Balata made from the latex of the sorva-pequena.^[12]

Word family

• sorveira
• sorval
• sorvalhada
• sorvar

Related words

• Latin sorbum
• Spanish serba
• Galician sorba

Usage notes

The noun is pronounced with a closed /o/, unlike the open /ɔ/ of sorva, a form of the verbs sorver and sorvar.^[12][14]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. sorva
3. ^ a b c Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. sorva
4. ^ Nascentes, Antenor (1966), Dicionário etimológico resumido, Rio de Janeiro: Instituto Nacional do Livro, p. s.v. sorva
5. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. sorva
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. sorbe
7. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. serba
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. sorbum
9. ^ a b Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sorva
10. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sorva
11. ^ Folqman, Carlos (1755), Diccionario portuguez, e latino, Lisboa: Régia Officina Silviana (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. sorva
12. ^ a b c d e Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. sorva
13. ^ Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. sorva
14. ^ Aulete, Francisco Júlio Caldas, Dicionário contemporâneo da língua portuguesa (1st ed. 1881), online as Aulete Digital, Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, https://aulete.com.br, p. s.v. sorva