κούμαρο

See also: κουμάρι and κουμαριά

Greek

Alternative forms

• κόμαρο (kómaro)

Etymology

From Byzantine Greek κούμαρον (koúmaron, “strawberry tree fruit”), from Koine Greek κόμαρον (kómaron, “strawberry tree fruit”) via [o>u], from Ancient Greek κόμαρος (kómaros, “strawberry tree”) (whence also Sicilian cacumbaru) transformed to neutral gender under the semantic influence of other fruit names. See κόμαρος (kómaros) for further etymology, perhaps ultimately Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkumaro/
• Hyphenation: κού‧μα‧ρο

Noun

κούμαρο • (koúmaro) n (plural κούμαρα)

1. cane apple, the fruit of the strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo)

   Synonym: μεμαίντζουλο n (memaíntzoulo) (dialectal, Euboea)

2. an alcoholic spirit made from the distillation of strawberry tree fruit
   • κούμαρο ο κόσμος δυνατό θα πίνει απ’ τα παγούρια

     koúmaro o kósmos dynató tha pínei ap’ ta pagoúria

     the people will be drinking strong strawberry tree spirit from the flasks

   Synonym: κουμαρόρακη f (koumaróraki) (dialectal, Crete)

Declension

Declension of κούμαρο

	singular	plural
nominative	κούμαρο •	κούμαρα •
genitive	κούμαρου •	κούμαρων •
accusative	κούμαρο •	κούμαρα •
vocative	κούμαρο •	κούμαρα •

Derived terms

• αγριοκούμαρο n (agriokoúmaro, “fruit of the Greek strawberry tree (Arbutus andrachne)”)
• κουμαρόρακη f (koumaróraki, “alcoholic spirit from the distillation of strawberry tree fruit”)
• κουμαρόμελο n (koumarómelo, “strawberry tree honey”)
• κουμαρόκρεμα f (koumarókrema, “strawberry tree fruit liqueur, crème d'arbouse”, literally “strawberry tree fruit cream”)

Descendants

• → Bulgarian: кумарка f (kumarka, “strawberry tree”)

References

• “κούμαρο”, in Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής [Dictionary of Standard Modern Greek], Triantafyllidis Foundation, 1998
• Nikos Sarantakos (2013) “Κεφ. 12–Η ελληνική φράουλα”, in Οπωροφόρες λέξεις (in Greek), Athens: Κλειδάριθμος, →ISBN