conifer
/ˈkɒnəfə/KO-nuh-fur
/ˈkɑnəfɚ/KAH-nuh-fur
Meaningcone-bearing
Common meaning: a cone-bearing tree
- cona pine cone; a cone shapeLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 867 (approximate) · scan
- ferto bear, bringLewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), p. 737 · scan
‘a pine cone’ + ‘to bear, bring’ → conifer
Journey through time
Hybrid: Greek + Latin Its parts come from different languages; our sources do not record where they were first put together.
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- con — Greek κῶνος “a pine cone; a cone shape” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- fer — Latin ferō, tulī, lātum “to bear, bring” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek κῶνος ‘a pine cone; a cone shape’ + Latin ferō ‘to bear, bring’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry ferō, p. 737 · dictionary scan
Roots
- ferō, tulī, lātum Latin “to bear, bring”
- κῶνος Greek “a pine cone; a cone shape”
Related words
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