pomme (English)

Where does "pomme" come from?

The English word 'pomme' is borrowed from the French 'pomme'[1], meaning 'apple'. This term traces back to the Latin 'poma', which was the plural form of 'pomum' that was reanalyzed as a feminine singular[2][3]. The Latin root stems from the Proto-Italic '*poomos'[2][4], which finds its origins in the Proto-Indo-European '*h₂po-h₁ém-os', a term signifying 'taken off'[2][4]. This English noun is a doublet of 'pome'[1].

Open questions

The reconstructed Proto-Italic form '*poomos' and its specific derivation from Proto-Indo-European are subjects of linguistic reconstruction. [2] [4] [6]
The relationship between the Proto-Indo-European root '*h₁em-' and '*nem-' remains a possibility rather than a confirmed etymological certainty. [5]
The exact internal development within Proto-Italic regarding whether the root was '*po-emo-', '*po-omo-', or '*pe-omo-' is uncertain. [6]

Full etymology tree

pomme (English), 'A roundel vert (green circular spot), resembling or representing an apple.'
- borrowed pomme (French), 'apple (fruit)'
  - inherited pomme (Middle French)
    - inherited pome (Old French), 'apple'
      - inherited poma (Latin), 'nominative/accusative/vocative plural of pōmum'
        inherited pomum (Latin), 'any type of fruit (applied to apples, cherries, nuts, berries, figs, dates, etc.)'
        inherited *poomos (Proto-Italic), 'fruit'
        inherited *h₂po-h₁ém-os (Proto-Indo-European)
        compound *h₂epo (Proto-Indo-European)
        compound *h₁em- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to take'

Ancestors

pomme (French)
poma (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

pome (English)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris