Tilia, ut dicit Ysidorus, arbor est sic dicta, eo quod lignum eius utile sit ad usus telorom pro levitate iaculi iaculandi. Est enim levissime materie. Fructus eius parvus est, sed admodum dulcis. Vulgo dicitur marem esse in hiis et feminam; mas in ea non floret, femina floret.
- Translation
- Vocabulary
- Notes
Concerning the lime tree. The tree has been called the lime tree, as Isidore says, because its wood may be advantageous for the use of spears on account of its lightness for throwing a javelin. It is indeed of the lightest material. Its fruit is small, but exceedingly sweet. Generally, it is said that in these trees there is male and female; the male in the species does not blossom, but the female does blossom.
admodum adv. exceedingly; greatly
floreo, florere, florui 2 to blossom; to flourish
levitas, levitatis f. lightness
lignum, ligni n. wood; timber
materies, materiei f. material; lumber
telum, teli n. spear; weapon
tilia, tiliae f. lime tree
Tilia: the lime-tree, which is the same as a linden tree today.
Ysidorus: Isidore of Seville, a 6th century scholar and Archbishop who wrote an etymological encyclopedia that included information on the natural world.
est… dicta: read as dicta est, the perfect passive form of dico, dicere.
eo quod: take as causal. “because…”
telorum: It is not actually known why the lime tree has its name. Isidore tried to connect the words tilia and telum as one possible way to explain it.
dicitur marem esse… feminam: indirect statement. “…it is said that in this species there is male and female…”
in hiis: technically translated “in these”; implies “in this species” or “within this type of tree”.
mas in ea non floret, femina floret: Isidore seems to be referencing the fact that some species of trees include different male trees and female trees (like the gingko tree, where only the female produces fruit). The lime tree is not one of these, but it is possible that they were seen flowering at different times of the year, which could have lead the ancients to believe that they were gendered.