laurus

See also: Laurus

Latin

Alternative forms

daurus (laurel)

Etymology

From Old Latin dacrus. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Related to Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel”), and likely borrowed there from an Aegean or Anatolian language.^[1] Together with the rare variation δαυχμός (daukhmós) and the name δαῦκος (daûkos), used for some umbelliferous plants, Beekes derives δάφνη (dáphnē) from *dakʷ-(n-). It is possibly related to Latin lacrima, dacrima and Ancient Greek δάκρυ (dákru, “tear, resin”), themselves from *dáḱru- and this from the compound *dr̥ḱ-h₂eḱru- (eye-bitter), due to its poignancy as firewood, or its gummy sap.^[2] Traditionally, δαῦκος has been connected with δαίω (daíō, “to kindle, burn”).^[3]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɫau̯.rʊs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈlaːu̯.rus]

Noun

laurus f (genitive laurī); second declension

laurel tree
(metonymic) laurels; a crown of laurel

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	laurus	laurī
genitive	laurī	laurōrum
dative	laurō	laurīs
accusative	laurum	laurōs laurūs
ablative	laurō	laurīs
vocative	laure	laurī

Synonyms

(laurel tree): laurea
(crown of laurel): laurea

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: laru, lau, lavru
Balkano-Romance:
- Aromanian: lavru
- Megleno-Romanian: laur
- Romanian: laur
Italo-Dalmatian:
- Central Italian: lauru, lauro, làvoro
- Corsican: ⇒ addoru
- Italian: loro (archaic), ⇒ alloro
- Neapolitan: làvoro, >? lauro
- Sicilian: aḍḍauru, >? lauru
- Venetan: ⇒ vialoro, doraro
Gallo-Italic:
- Lombard: laur
- Piedmontese: làuro, laur
Gallo-Romance:
- Northern:
  - Old French: lor
    - Old Lorrain: loir
- Southern:
  - Old Catalan: lor
    - Catalan: llor, llort
  - Old Occitan: laur
    - Occitan: laur (Rouergue)
Ibero-Romance:
- Asturian: lloru
- Old Galician-Portuguese: louro
  - Galician: louro
  - Portuguese: louro, loiro
- Spanish: loro (archaic)
Borrowings:
- → Albanian: lar
- → Asturian: lauro (learned)
- → Esperanto: laŭro
  - → Ido: lauro
- → Italian: lauro (learned)
- → Old Irish:
  - Manx: laurys
  - Scottish Gaelic: labhrais
- → Polish: laur (learned)
- → Portuguese: lauro (learned)
- →? Proto-Brythonic: *llọrɨβ̃
  - Welsh: llawryf
- → Proto-West Germanic: *laur (see there for further descendants)
- → Spanish: lauro (learned)

Unsorted borrowings:

→ Belarusian: лаўр (lawr)
→ Bulgarian: лавър (lavăr)
→ Latvian: laurs
→ Lithuanian: laurų
→ Macedonian: лавор (lavor), ловор (lovor)
→ Russian: лавр (lavr) (see there for further descendants)
→ Samogitian: lauros
→ Serbo-Croatian: lȍvōr / ло̏во̄р
- → Pannonian Rusyn: ловор (lovor)
→ Slovene: lovor
→ Ukrainian: лавр (lavr)

References

^ Walde, Alois; Hofmann, Johann Baptist (1938), “laurus”, in Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), 3rd edition, volume 1, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, pages 775-776
^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 10), with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 306-307
^ Chantraine, Pierre (1968–1980), “δαῦκος [daûkos]”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque (in French), volume 1, Paris: Klincksieck, page 254-255 of 254-255

AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 598: “l'alloro” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “laurus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 5: J L, page 208