Etymograph

English

silva

Silva comes from Latin silva ‘wood’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilva1‘wood’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1909silva1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English silva
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1909, Willis Linn Jepson, The Trees of California: “The most interesting and striking features of the silva…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsilvaWiktionary, English silva‘wood’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1909silvaWiktionary, English silva. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1909, Willis Linn Jepson, The Trees of California: “The most interesting and striking features of the silva…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sel- ‘jump, spring’

result, sale, salmon, insult, sally, salon, exile, salle, salient, resilient, somersault, salacious, slink, sill, seel, selly, 17 more

through Latin silva ‘wood’

savage, salvage, sylvan, selva, 6 more

Today it means

noun The forest trees of a particular area

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “silva”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin silva / silva

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