ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF CULTIVATED TREES AND SHRUBS

Abstract

Dendronyms are one of the most ancient layers of vocabulary, their research in comparative and cognitive-onomasiological aspects is one of the topical areas of modern linguistics. Despite the strong tradition of studying dendronyms, the scientific names of cultivated trees and shrubs remain outside the researchers’ attention. The aim of the article is to determine the etymology of the scientific names of cultivated trees and shrubs, to reconstruct the motivators of the dendronyms nomination. Etymological analysis of dedronyms and the comparative method were used in the research, 16 binomial names served as material. The conducted analysis proved that the process of nomination of trees and shrubs in Latin and Ukrainian is mostly based on the mechanisms of propositional and dictum motivation, which fixes true knowledge about the object of nomination in the structure of the name. Predicate-argument type of propositional-dictum motivation prevails. In both Latin and Ukrainian languages, the reconstruction of the motivators of many names of trees and shrubs remains hypothetical, even within the etymological investigations of the same word, researchers actualize different name motivators, seeing connections with various characteristics of plant: appearance, color, smell, taste, origin or place of growth, time of flowering or ripening, properties, usage in human practice and other factors. Since the process of domestication of trees and shrubs has a long history, many dendronyms names in both Latin and Ukrainian languages have reconstructed Proto-Indo-European stems. The results of the research can be used in the educational process in the training of specialists in the field of horticulture and forestry.