Tuesday, May 6, 2025

05.08.25: topic; the fruits of the earth [15]; Comenius (1658); fruits of trees (iii); notes and vocabulary (ii)

The apple is round. │ malum est rotundum.

The pear and fig are something long. │ pyrum* & fīcus sunt oblonga.

The cherry hangeth by a long start**. │ cerasum pendet longō pediolō**.

The plumb and peach by a shorter. │prūnum & persicum breviōrī.

The mulberry by a very short one. │mōrum brevissimō.

*Mediaeval Latin for pirum

** “start” = stalk; the Latin here is most likely a mis-spelling for petiolus (Late Latin): stalk, stem

[4]

cerasum, -ī [2/n] or cerasus, -ī [2/f]: cherry

fīcus, -ūs [4 m/f] or -ī [2 m/f]: fig

mālum, -ī [2/n]: apple; note: “any tree-fruit fleshy on the outside, and having a kernel within hence, applied also to quinces, pomegranates, peaches, oranges, lemons, etc.” (Lewis and Short)

mōrum, -ī [2/n]: mulberry; blackberry

persicum, -ī [2/n]: peach

pirum, -ī [2/n]: pear

prūnum, -ī [2/n]: plum


More information on the Latin terms for fruit is here:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/07/200824-follow-up-food-and-drink-11.html

[5] Note the use of the comparative and superlative:

The cherry hangeth by a long start (stalk) │ cerasum pendet longō petiolō.

The plum and peach by a shorter │prūnum & persicum breviōrī.

The mulberry by a very short one │mōrum brevissimō.

petiolus, -ī [2/m] (Late Latin) stalk; stem; the word is a diminutive literally meaning little foot and derived from pēs, pedis [3/m]: foot, but the spelling is with /t/, not /d/ as in the Comenius text.

The wall-nut, the hazel-nut, and chest-nut, are wrapped in a husk and a shell. │nux jūglāns avellāna* & castanea involūta sunt corticī & putāminī

*abellāna

[6]

abellāna, -ae [1/f]: hazelnut; also listed in some dictionaries as avellāna

castanea, -ae [1/f]: chestnut; chestnut tree

iūglāns, iūglandis [3/f]: walnut; walnut tree

nux, nucis [3/f]: nut; nut tree

cortex, corticis [3 m/f]: bark of a tree; shell; outward covering

putāmen, putāminis [3/n]: shell; peel (from eggs, vegetables etc.)

[7]

involūta sunt │ (they) are wrapped (have been wrapped)

involvō, -ere, involvī, involūtus [3]: wrap up; cover; involve


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