iuniperus

Latin

Alternative forms

• iūnipirus
• ziniperus (late, proscribed)
• giniperus, geniperus (9th century)

Etymology

Often connected to iūncus (“reed”). According to Brüch, after the form combrētum, the Latin expected form would be *iūniber, *iūnibrī. The form iūniperus, following him, is a pseudo-Latinism by Sabine speakers, who, themselves in the land of junipers as ancient relations and the terms for particular species catanum and herba Sabīna witness, have borrowed the original form from Umbrian, and knowing the Umbrian correspondence of br to pr and elision of vowels loaned the plant name in the shape iūniperus, iūniperī, in spite of the language of the Latium regularly exposing the nominative singular ending -erus only from old -esos while -er for old -ros.

Often connected to Old Norse einir (“juniper”), supposedly from a Proto-Germanic *(j)ainijaz of the same meaning, through a common Indo-European origin or wanderwort.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /i̯uːˈni.pe.rus/, [i̯uːˈnɪpɛrʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /juˈni.pe.rus/, [juˈniːperus]

Noun

iūniperus f (genitive iūniperī); second declension

1. juniper-tree

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	iūniperus	iūniperī
Genitive	iūniperī	iūniperōrum
Dative	iūniperō	iūniperīs
Accusative	iūniperum	iūniperōs
Ablative	iūniperō	iūniperīs
Vocative	iūnipere	iūniperī

Synonyms

• (juniper-tree): cedrus

Derived terms

• iūnipereus

Descendants

• Inherited:
  • Aromanian: giuneapini, giuneapine
  • Romanian: jneapăn, jnepen, jneapăr
• Borrowed:
  • → Portuguese: junípero
  • →? Romanian: ienupăr
  • → Spanish: junípero
  • → Translingual: Juniperus, Juniperites

Reflexes of the late variant ziniperus:

• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: ginepro
  • Sicilian: jinìparu
• Insular Romance:
  • Old Sardinian: [Term?]
    • Gallurese: niparu
    • Logudorese: nibaru
    • Sassarese: zinibbari
• North Italian:
  • Gallo-Italic:
    • Emilian: zenvar, znever
    • Lombard: zenivru, zanibru, zenever
    • Ligurian: zeneivro (medieval), zenêvu
    • Piedmontese: zenèiver, geneiver, znèivr
  • Friulian: zenevre
  • Ladin: jeneivar
  • Romansch: ganaivar, jünaivar, geneivar
  • Venetian: xenevro
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Catalan: ginebre
  • Old Franco-Provençal: genevro
    • Franco-Provençal: genêvro
  • Old French: genevre (see there for further descendants)
  • Gascon: genèbre, ginèbre
  • Occitan: genibre, genèbre, genebre
  • → Middle Breton: genevreg
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: chinepro, chinipro; chinebro, chinabro, chinarro
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: *jĩebro, *jĩbro
    • Galician: cimbro
    • Portuguese: zimbro
  • Spanish: enebro
• Borrowings:
  • → Basque: ipuru
  • →? Old Norse: einir (see there for further descendants)

References

• Brüch, Josef (1922) “Lateinische Etymologien”, in Indogermanische Forschungen. Zeitschrift für Indogermanistik und allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft‎^[1] (in German), volume 40, Berlin und Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter & Co., pages 224–232
• “iuniperus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “jŭnĭpĕrus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 5: J L, page 74