The Latin Neuter Plurals in Romance - Page ON

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péšego), with another variety alperc(h)e (also used for the ‘persimmon’), and
with durázio (Gal. durainzo, also durasno from Spanish) for the ‘clingstone’
variety (cf. durázia for a hard variety of olive). (Outside our scope are
albricoque and damasco, which has replaced the other as the standard name for
the ‘apricot’.) We also find that, in accordance with the semantic development
seen in Arag. lecina, the Ptg. azinha (an-, en-) has become the word for ‘acorn’,
leading to the formation of azinho (beside azinheira, azinheiro) for the tree.
k) Sardinian shows a different course of development, which, as we
have seen earlier, was also represented in late Latin. Here, as Lausberg explains
(§601c), the -a forms serve in most cases for both tree and fruit, as the names of
the trees retained their feminine gender and altered their declension accordingly
(for this process cf. Sp., Ptg. murta ‘myrtle’ and the names taken from Latin
adjectival forms, such as It. quercia ‘oak’, Sp. haya, Ptg. faia ‘beech’, Sp.
encina ‘holm-oak’ etc.), while the old neuter plural form became the new
singular name of the fruit. So we find mela, with melarenada (or arenada)
‘pomegranate’, pira, pruna, mura (‘mulberry’ or ‘blackberry’), Log. cariasa,
Camp. tšeresia ‘cherry’, Central kitondza, Log. melagidondza, Camp.
melagidondža ‘quince’, nespula ‘medlar’, together with Nuor. ákina, Log.
ágina, Camp. ážina ‘grape’ (Ling. Sard., p. 85, where a cognate Calab. ácina
‘grapes’ is also quoted; cf. early Latin ACINUM and later ACINA, quoted in my
§§2c, 4a); the REW suggests that Log. suerva may be from Spanish, though
there is also a form superva, while in the south we find sorba, apparently a
native form. We also find fragula, taken from Italian, and lima, coming from
Spanish. The Latin singular POMU is still retained, however, as OSard. pumu
(also used synecdochically for an ‘orchard’, Mon., No. 10, Ling. Sard., p. 373);
there is also an old pumora with the same meaning of ‘orchard’, formed as
fruttora, and this survives in Dorgali (Log.) as the pl. pummoras ‘fruit’.