frondifer Latin · revision 36529

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=la frōns, la ferō}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''frondifer''' (feminine frondifera, neuter frondiferum); first/second-declension adjective^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ The older spelling ''frundifer'' is found in Naevius.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|frōns#1|-fer|t1=foliage|t2=bearing]], the second part from [[m|la|ferō|t=to bear]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010) De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of the noun.^(de Vaan 2008) He calls the origin of that noun unclear: an old comparison with [[grc|θρόνα|tr=thróna|t=herbs, flowers]] needs an extra suffix in Latin, and he suggests that the Greek and Latin words might both come from a Mediterranean substrate word for plants.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Naevius, in a tragedy, has ''frundiferōs locōs'', “leafy places”, a line quoted by Nonius.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It remained a poetic word.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Lucretius uses it of the leafy homes of birds, of woods and of a grove,^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879) and Seneca of groves in his ''Oedipus''.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ In Christian Latin an old version of Ezekiel speaks of a ''campus frondifer'', a field full of plants,^(TLL) and Sidonius Apollinaris writes of the leafy summit of an Alp.^(TLL) An English glossary of the Middle Ages explains a ''frondifer'' grove with Old English words.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius writes of leafy places.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of woods and groves.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of groves.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius uses it of a mountain summit.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Bearing [[m|en|leaf|alt=leaves]], [[m|en|leafy]] (of trees, woods).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+ # Of places, rich in trees or plants.^(TLL)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[frōns#1]]

+ * [[frondeō]]

+ * [[frondōsus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}