sycomore

English

Etymology

Obsolete spelling of sycamore that hearkens closer to the word's Greek roots. Some writers have used the more Hellenic sycomore when referring to the Biblical tree to distinguish it from other trees now called sycamore.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsɪkəmɔː(ɹ)/
• Homophone: sycamore

Noun

sycomore (plural sycomores)

1. A type of fig, Ficus sycomorus, native to the Middle East; the sycamore tree of the Bible.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible,  (King James Version), London: Robert Barker, , →OCLC, 1 Kings 10:27:

     And the king made siluer to be in Ierusalem as stones, and Cedars made he to be as the Sycomore trees, that are in the vale for abundance.

   • 1873, Henry Baker Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible, page 398:

     The Sycomore was and is one of the common trees of Egypt, and its wood was employed for the manufacture of mummy cases, and for doors, boxes, and all articles of furniture. […] So valuable was this tree that David appointed a special overseer “over the olive trees and sycomore trees that were in the low plains” (1 Chron. xxvii. 28) […]

Synonyms

• fig-mulberry
• sycamore fig
• sycomore fig

See also

• sycamore

References

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

sycomore f (plural sycomores)

1. sycomore

Further reading

• “sycomore”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Latin

Noun

sycomore

1. vocative singular of sycomorus