Lignum
/ˈlɪɡ.nəm/noun
Latin for “wood” or “timber,” used in English chiefly in learned contexts and scientific names.
Did you know?In Latin, *lignum* was the ordinary word for wood, and its descendants survive in scientific and technical terms like *ligneous* and *lignin*, the structural substance that makes wood hard and rigid.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*legʰ-
“to lie, be laid down; associated in Indo-European branches with wood and fuel in some developments”
Proto-Italic
PI
*lagnom
“wood, timber”
Old Latin
Latin
lignum
“wood, firewood, timber”
Classical Latin
Latin
lignum
“wood; a piece of wood; timber”
Modern English
English
lignum
“a learned borrowing meaning wood, especially in technical or botanical usage”