forestis

Esperanto

Verb

forestis

1. past of foresti

Latin

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Securely attested from AD 648.

proposed etymologies

Shortening of an expression like silva *forestis, the latter an unattested adjective derived from forās (“outside”) or forum (“court”) + -est(r)is (adjective ending). In the former case the etymological sense would perhaps be "forest outside of public use" and in the latter case "forest belonging to the court". From a Frankish *forhist, a derivative from *forha (“pine”). Compare Proto-West Germanic *furhiþi (“forest”). For change of Proto-West Germanic þ to Latin s compare also Latin camīsia from Proto-West Germanic *hamiþi.

Alternative forms

• foresta

Noun

forestis f (genitive forestis); third declension (Early Medieval Latin)

1. a large area reserved for the use of the King or nobility, often a forest and often for hunting or fishing
2. (by extension) a forest in general

Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	forestis	forestēs
Genitive	forestis	forestium
Dative	forestī	forestibus
Accusative	forestem	forestēs forestīs
Ablative	foreste	forestibus
Vocative	forestis	forestēs

Derived terms

• afforestō
• dēforestō
• foresticolus
• forestālis
• forestārius
• forestātiō
• forestō
• reforestātiō
• reforestō

 

Descendants

• Old Catalan: forest
• Franco-Provençal: forêt
• Old French: forest (see there for further descendants)
• Occitan: forèst

Reflexes of the variant foresta: (possibly all via Old French)

• Old French: foreste
• Italian: foresta
  • → Maltese: foresta
• Old Occitan: foresta
• Piedmontese: foresta
• Portuguese: floresta
• Sicilian: furesta
• Spanish: floresta

References

• Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976) “forestis”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill, page 443

Etymology 2

Noun

forestīs

1. dative/ablative plural of foresta