mespilum

Latin

Alternative forms

mespila, *nespila, *nespira, *nespirum

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek μέσπιλον (méspilon).

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lum/, [ˈmɛs̠pɪɫ̪ʊ̃ˑ]

(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.pi.lum/, [ˈmɛspilum]

Noun

mespilum n (genitive mespilī); second declension

The medlar (fruit or tree)

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mespilum	mespila
Genitive	mespilī	mespilōrum
Dative	mespilō	mespilīs
Accusative	mespilum	mespila
Ablative	mespilō	mespilīs
Vocative	mespilum	mespila

Descendants

Old French: mesple, mesdle, medle, mesle
- French: nèfle
- → Middle English: medle, meyle, mele, melde
- ⇒ medler, meslier
  - → Middle English: medler, meddeler, medeler, middiller, medlar
    - English: medlar
Italian: nespolo, nespola
Portuguese: nêspera
Spanish: níspero
→ Proto-West Germanic: *mespilā (see there for further descendants)

References

“mespilum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
mespilum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Further reading

Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “medlar”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

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