Amygdalus
/əˈmɪɡ.də.ləs/noun
A classical Latin/Greek term for the almond tree or almond, and a genus name in older botanical classification.
Did you know?In ancient Greek, *amygdálē* named the almond, and that same root survives in modern anatomy as *amygdala*, the brain region whose name literally comes from the almond shape.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂emǵʰ-
“A proposed ancestral root meaning 'almond' or a related tree/nut, reconstructed with some uncertainty.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
ἀμυγδάλη (amygdálē)
“Almond; almond tree.”
Classical Latin
Latin
amygdala
“Almond; almond tree, borrowed from Greek.”
Late Latin / Medieval Latin
Latin
amygdalus
“Almond tree; almond, used in learned botanical and medical writing.”
Modern English
English
amygdalus
“A learned botanical term, now largely historical or technical.”
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