geranion

Latin

Alternative forms

• geranium (Latinized)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Ancient Greek γερᾰ́νῐον (geránion, “Geranium tuberosum”, plant name), from γέρᾰνος (géranos, “crane”) +‎ -ῐον (-ion, diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ɡeˈra.ni.on/, [ɡɛˈräniɔn]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒeˈra.ni.on/, [d͡ʒeˈräːnion]

Noun

geranion n (genitive geraniī); second declension

1. storksbill (Erodium spp.)
   • c. 77 CE – 79 CE, Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia 26.108:

     Geranion aliqui myrrin, alii myrtidan appellant. similis est cicutae, minutioribus foliis et caule brevior, rotunda, saporis et odoris iucundi.

     Some call it geranion, others call it myrtidan. It is similar to hemlock, with smaller leaves and a shorter stem, round in shape, with a pleasant taste and aroma.

Inflection

Second-declension noun (neuter, Greek-type).

	singular	plural
nominative	geranion	gerania
genitive	geraniī	geraniōrum
dative	geraniō	geraniīs
accusative	geranion	gerania
ablative	geraniō	geraniīs
vocative	geranion	gerania

Related terms

• geranītis

Descendants

• Translingual: Geranium

References

• “geranion”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press