picea Latin · revision 35904

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=70–19 BC, Virgil|origins=la pix}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈpɪ.ke.a]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈpiː.t͡ʃe.a]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''picea''' ''f'' (genitive piceae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[der|la|piceus|t=of pitch]], the feminine of that adjective used as a noun;^(Wiktionary)^(DMLBS) the OLD derives it directly from [[m|la|pix|t=pitch]].^(OLD 2012) A medieval glossary explains it as a tree from which pitch is made.^(DMLBS) The noun for “pitch” goes back to [[itc-pro|*pik-]] and [[ine-pro|*pik-|t=pitch]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in Virgil's ''Georgics'',^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010) and Virgil uses it again in the ''Aeneid''.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The dictionaries identify the tree differently: the OLD takes it as a spruce, probably the Norway spruce, and Conte as a spruce or red fir,^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) while Lewis & Short and Georges take it as the pitch pine or Scots pine.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Ovid mentions it, and Pliny the Elder describes it among the resin-bearing trees.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ British medieval writers used it for a resin-bearing tree, pine or spruce; a commentary on the ''Aeneid'' took these trees to stand for vices, because of their bitterness and barrenness.^(DMLBS) Wiktionary also gives the sense “spruce”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil names the tree in the ''Georgics'' and the ''Aeneid''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid mentions it in the ''Metamorphoses'' and the ''Heroides''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|spruce]], probably the Norway spruce;^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) or the [[m|en|pitch pine]], Scots pine.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A resin-bearing tree, [[m|en|pine]] or spruce.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pix]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}