LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

pirum

pirum n (genitive pirī)
Classical[ˈpɪ.rũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈpiː.rum]

Meaning

  1. neutera pear (fruit)
    Si in pirum silvaticam inserueris pirum quamvis bonam, non fore tam iucundam, quam si in eam quae silvestris non sit.If you graft a pear, no matter how good, onto a wild pear, it will not be as delicious as onto one that is not wild.37 BC, Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum rusticarum libri tres, volume 1:

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepirumpira
genitivepirīpirōrum
dativepirōpirīs
accusativepirumpira
ablativepirōpirīs
vocativepirumpira

pĭrum, i, n.,
I. a pear, Cato, R. R. 7; Varr. R. R. 1, 59, 3; Col. 5, 10, 18; Plin. 15, 15, 16, § 53; Cloat. ap. Macr. S. 2, 15; Plaut. Poen. 2, 38; Juv. 11, 73: insitiva decerpens pira, Hor. Epod. 2, 19; id. Ep. 1, 7, 14; Verg. G. 2, 88.

Origins

* Per De Vaan a loanword from an unknown Mediterranean substrate source, original form something like (a)pisom reflected also in Ancient Greek ᾰ̓́πῐον (ắpĭon, “pear”) and ᾰ̓́πῐος (ắpĭos, “pear tree”). Also compare Aramaic 𐡐𐡀𐡓𐡀 (pera, “fruit”). * Per Trubachyov ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peys-, akin to Latin pinsō, pistus, Proto-Slavic *pьšeno (whence Russian пшено́ (pšenó)). Compare Proto-Slavic *kruša (voiced counterpart: *gruša, whence Russian гру́ша (grúša)) akin to *krušiti (> Russian круши́ть (krušítʹ)).

Elsewhere
  • Portugueseperofrom Old Galician-Portuguese pero
  • Portuguesepêrofrom Old Galician-Portuguese pero
  • Romanianparăfrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Italianperafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Frenchpoirefrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Catalanperafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Occitanperafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Portugueseperafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Spanishperafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
  • Sardinianpirafrom Vulgar Latin *pira
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Romanshpair
  • Romanshpér
  • Romanshpeir
Vulgar Latin
  • Friulianpiruç
  • Piedmontesepruss

In English words that came into English from pirum

  • pearpira
  • perry*piratum
  • pyriformpyrifōrmis
  • piriformispirifōrmis
  • piroplasmapirum

Quick answers

What does pirum mean in Latin?
pirum, a noun, means “a pear (fruit)”.
What is the genitive of pirum?
The genitive singular is pirī. pirum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce pirum?
In classical Latin, [ˈpɪ.rũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpiː.rum].
Which English words come from pirum?
English words that go back to Latin pirum include piroplasma, pear, perry, pyriform and piriformis.