sycamore

See also: Sycamore

English

Sycamore Gap Tree (Acer pseudoplatanus), next to Hadrian’s Wall, UK, felled by a vandal in September 2023

Alternative forms

• sycomore

Etymology

Circa 1350 as Middle English sicamour, from Old French sicamor, from Latin sȳcomorus, from Ancient Greek σῡκόμορος (sūkómoros, literally “fig-mulberry”), from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + μόρον (móron, “mulberry”). 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.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪkəmɔɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪkəmɔː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: sycomore
• Hyphenation: syc‧a‧more

Noun

sycamore (countable and uncountable, plural sycamores)

1. (US) 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.

   Synonyms: planetree, plane

   Hyponym: buttonwood

   • 1931, “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, Gus Kahn (lyrics), Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt (music):

     Stars shining bright above you / Night breezes seem to whisper, I love you / Birds singin' in the sycamore trees

   • 1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 408:

     On his dark face were white sycamore patches.

2. (British) A large British and European species of maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, known in North America as the sycamore maple.
   • 1899, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, “The Day-Dream”, in Pictures & poems:

     The thronged boughs of the shadowy sycamore / Still bear young leaflets half the summer through

3. (originally) A large tree bearing edible fruit, Ficus sycomorus, allied to the common fig, found in Egypt and Syria.

   Synonyms: sycomore, sycomore fig, fig-mulberry

Derived terms

• Arizona sycamore
• California sycamore
• sycamore lace bug
• sycamore maple tree
• sycamore tree

 

Related terms

• sycophant

Translations

Platanus

• Arabic: جُمَّيْز (jummayz)
• Aromanian: paltin m
• Azerbaijani: çinar (az)
• Bulgarian: чинар (bg) m (činar), платан (bg) m (platan)
• Catalan: plàtan (ca) m
• Cherokee: ᎪᏧᏁᎦ (gotsunega), ᎫᏩᏧᏁᎦ (guwatsunega)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 懸鈴木／悬铃木 (zh) (xuánlíngmù), 美桐 (měitóng)

• Czech: platan (cs) m
• Estonian: plataanid, plaatanid (archaic)
• Finnish: plataani (fi) (Platanus); amerikanplataani, lännenplataani (Platanus occidentalis)
• French: platane (fr) m
• Galician: plátano (gl)
• Georgian: მთის ბოყვი (mtis boq̇vi)
• German: Platane (de) f
• Greek: πλάτανος (el) m (plátanos)

  Ancient: πλάτανος m (plátanos)

• Hebrew: דולב m (dolev)
• Italian: platano (it) m
• Japanese: スズカケノキ (suzukake no ki), プラタナス (puratanasu)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: çinar (ku) f

• Latin: platanus m
• Malagasy: mamankona (mg)
• Malayalam: ചിനാർ (cināṟ)
• Maori: hikamora, hikamoa
• Persian: چنار (fa) (čenâr)
• Polish: platan (pl) m
• Portuguese: plátano (pt) m
• Romanian: platan (ro) m
• Russian: плата́н (ru) m (platán), чинар (ru) m (činar)
• Serbo-Croatian: platan (sh) m, platana (sh) f
• Spanish: plátano (es) m (Spain)
• Swahili: mwela
• Tagalog: sikomoro
• Tatar: чинар (çinar)
• Turkish: çınar (tr)
• Ukrainian: платан m (platan)

sycamore maple — see sycamore maple

Ficus sycomorus

• Armenian: ժանտաթզենի (hy) (žantatʿzeni)
• Bulgarian: черничева смокиня f (černičeva smokinja)
• Egyptian: (nht f)
• Esperanto: sikomoro
• Estonian: plataan, plaatan (et) (archaic)
• Finnish: sykomori, metsäviikunapuu
• French: sycomore (fr) m, figuier sycomore (fr) m
• Galician: sicómoro (gl) m
• German: Maulbeerfeige f, Maulbeer-Feige f, Sykomore f, Eselsfeige f
• Greek:

  Ancient: συκόμορος f (sukómoros)

• Hebrew: שִׁקְמָה (he) f (shiqmá)
• Japanese: エジプトイチジク (Ejiputo-ichijiku), イチジクグワ (ichijikuguwa)
• Kikuyu: mũkũyũ class 3
• Maori: hikamora
• Middle English: sicamour
• Portuguese: sicómoro m (Portugal), sicômoro m (Brazil)
• Romanian: sicomor (ro) m
• Serbo-Croatian: sikomora (sh) f
• Swahili: mkuyu (sw)
• Tagalog: sikomoro
• Welsh: sycamorwydden f

Further reading

• “sycamore”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “sycamore”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “sycamore”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• sycamore on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sycamore Gap Tree on Wikipedia.Wikipedia