English
myrtle
Myrtle comes from Latin myrtillus ‘blueberry’, from myrtus ‘myrtle (tree)’, and ultimately from Ancient Greek μύρτος.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύρτοςmúrtos
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmyrtus‘myrtle (tree)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmyrtillus‘blueberry’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mirtille
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1951myrtle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμύρτοςmúrtos
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmyrtus‘myrtle (tree)’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmyrtillus‘blueberry’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400mirtille
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1951myrtle
Earliest quotation: 1951, Ambrose Pratt, The Lore of the Lyrebird: “[W]here the gullies are fringed with blackwoods, wattle, myrtles,…”
Every English word from Ancient Greek μύρτος
Today it means
noun An evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus Myrtus, native to southern Europe and north Africa.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek μύρτος / myrtle