pirum

See also: pīrum

Latin

Alternative forms

• pyrum (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

A loanword from an unknown Mediterranean substrate source, original form something like (a)pisom reflected also in Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́πῐον (ápion, “pear”) and ᾰ̓́πῐος (ápios, “pear tree”). Also compare Aramaic 𐡐𐡀𐡓𐡀 (pera, “fruit”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.rum/, [ˈpɪrʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.rum/, [ˈpiːrum]

Noun

pirum n (genitive pirī); second declension

1. a pear (fruit)

Inflection

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pirum	pira
Genitive	pirī	pirōrum
Dative	pirō	pirīs
Accusative	pirum	pira
Ablative	pirō	pirīs
Vocative	pirum	pira

Derived terms

• perula (Medieval Latin)
• pirācium (noun)
• pirārius (adjective) (Medieval Latin)
• pirifōrmis (adjective)

Related terms

• pirus (“pear tree”)

Descendants

Descendants of pirum

• → Proto-Brythonic: *per (see there for further descendants)
• → Proto-West Germanic: *peru (see there for further descendants)
• → Irish: piorra
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Romansch: pair, pér (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan), peir (Surmiran)
• → Scottish Gaelic: peur
• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *pira (reanalyzed as feminine singular)
  • Dalmatian: paira
  • Eastern Romance:
    • Aromanian: pearã
    • Romanian: pară
  • Italian: pera
  • Old French: peire
    • French: poire
    • → Middle Irish: péire
      • Irish: péire
    • Norman: paithe, peire (continental Normandy), père (Guernsey)
  • Old Occitan: pera
    • Catalan: pera
    • Occitan: pera
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: pera
    • Galician: pera
    • Portuguese: pera
  • Old Spanish: pera
    • Spanish: pera
  • Rhaeto-Romance:
    • Romansch: paira
  • Sardinian: pira
  • Sicilian: piru
• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: [Term?] (diminutive)
  • Padanian:
    • Friulian: piruç
    • Piedmontese: pruss

References

• “pĭrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pirum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pirum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• pirum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 467