Tuesday, May 6, 2025

05.08.25: topic; the fruits of the earth [14]; Comenius (1658); fruits of trees (ii); notes and vocabulary (i)

Fruits are pull’d from fruit-bearing trees. │ Pōma dēcerpuntur ā frūctiferīs arboribus.

[1]

[a] frūctus, -ūs [4/m]: apart from ‘fruit’, the words has several meanings in Latin e.g. enjoyment, produce, profit

fēcundior annus prōvenit, et frūctum terra pecūsque ferunt (Ovid) │ a more fertile year proceeds, and the land and the cattle bring forth produce.

[b] pōmum, -ī [2/n]: refers to any type of fruit i.e. do not be influenced by French pomme which refers to an apple

[2] carpō, -ere, carpsī, carptus [3]: pluck; pick; harvest

carpe diem: seize the day i.e. make good use / enjoy the day (this period of time in your life)

dēcerpō, -ere, -cerpsi, -cerptus [3]: pluck, pull, break off; harvest

Prōtinus haerentem dēcerpsī pollice flōrem (Ovid) │ Immediately I plucked the clinging flower with my thumb

[3] frūctifer, -a, -um: fruit-bearing

The suffix -fer indicates bringing, carrying, for example:

ignifer, -a, -um: fiery; bringing fire

lactifer, -a, -um: producing milk

pōmifer, -a, -um: fruit-bearing

aquilifer, -ī [3/m] (< aquila: eagle + fer): the standard bearer in the Roman army

From the text:

umbrifer, -a, -um (< umbra, -ae [1/f]: shadow; shade + fer): shade-giving

From this construction we have the English tree name conifer

cōnifer, -a, -um (cōnus, -ī [2/m]: cone + fer): bearing conical fruit

Also: Lucifer, -ī [2/m] (< lūx, lūcis [3/f]: light + fer): “the bringer of light” = the morning star; (Bibl.) Lucifer


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