pomme (French)
Where does "pomme" come from?
The French noun 'pomme' is inherited directly through Middle French 'pomme' and Old French 'pome'[1]. These trace back to Latin 'pōma', which was originally the plural form of 'pōmum' and was subsequently reanalyzed as a feminine singular noun[1]. Looking further back, the Latin term descends from Proto-Italic '*poomos', which itself originates from Proto-Indo-European '*h₂po-h₁ém-os'[1]. This ancient ancestral form literally translates to 'taken off'[1].
Open questions
- The Proto-Italic term is reconstructed as '*poomos' and further traced to Proto-Indo-European elements meaning taken off. [1] [3]
- Latin 'pōmum' is likely derived from Proto-Italic '*po-emo-', though alternative morphological breakdowns have been proposed. [6]
Full etymology tree
- pomme (French), 'apple (fruit)'
- inherited pomme (Middle French)
- inherited pome (Old French), 'apple'
- inherited poma (Latin), 'nominative/accusative/vocative plural of pōmum'
- derived pomum (Latin), 'any type of fruit (applied to apples, cherries, nuts, berries, figs, dates, etc.)'
- inherited *poomos (Proto-Italic), 'fruit'
- derived *po-emo- (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *h₂po-h₁ém-os (Proto-Indo-European)
- compound *h₂epo (Proto-Indo-European)
- compound *h₁em- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to take'
- inherited *poomos (Proto-Italic), 'fruit'
- derived pomum (Latin), 'any type of fruit (applied to apples, cherries, nuts, berries, figs, dates, etc.)'
- inherited poma (Latin), 'nominative/accusative/vocative plural of pōmum'
- inherited pome (Old French), 'apple'
- inherited pomme (Middle French)
Ancestors
- pome (Old French)
- poma (Latin)
- *poomos (Proto-Italic)
Cognates and doublets
- pome (English)
Sources
- pomme (French) - Wiktionary
- pome (Old French) - Wiktionary
- poomos (Proto-Italic) - Wiktionary
- h₁em- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- pume (Old French) - Wiktionary
- pomum (Latin) - Wiktionary
Updated September 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris