English
sycamore
Sycamore comes from Middle English sicamour, from Old French sicamor, from Latin sȳcomorus, from Ancient Greek σῡκόμορος ‘fig-mulberry’ (σῦκον ‘fig’ + μόρον ‘mulberry’).
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῡκόμορος1literally ‘fig-mulberry’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsȳcomorus1
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sicamor1‘sycamore’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sicamour1
- Englishearliest quotation 1899sycamore1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English sycamore
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Day-Dream: “The thronged boughs of the shadowy sycamore / Still…”.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEσῡκόμοροςWiktionary, English sycamoreliterally ‘fig-mulberry’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsȳcomorusWiktionary, English sycamore
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400sicamorWiktionary, English sycamore‘sycamore’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sicamourWiktionary, English sycamore
- Englishearliest quotation 1899sycamoreWiktionary, English sycamore. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1899, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Day-Dream: “The thronged boughs of the shadowy sycamore / Still…”
A compound of σῦκον ‘fig’ + μόρον ‘mulberry’
Ancient Greek σῦκον ‘fig’
Proto-Indo-European *mórom ‘mulberry, blackberry’
Ancient Greek μόρον ‘mulberry’
The story
Possibly influenced by Hebrew שִׁקְמָה (shikmá, “fig-mulberry”). In the 16th c. applied to the European maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), in the early 19th c. to various plane tree species introduced to North America, perhaps in analogy to their shadiness.
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Today it means
noun Any of several North American plane trees, of the genus Platanus, especially Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore), distinguished by its mottled bark which flakes off in large irregular masses.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “sycamore”. 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 / Ancient Greek σῡκόμορος / sycamore