sycamore

Meaning

1. (US, countable, uncountable) Any of several North American plane trees, of the genus Platanus, especially Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore), distinguished by its mottled bark which flakes off in large irregular masses.
2. (British, countable, uncountable) A large British and European species of maple, Acer pseudoplatanus, known in North America as the sycamore maple.
3. (countable, uncountable) A large tree bearing edible fruit, Ficus sycomorus, allied to the common fig, found in Egypt and Syria.

Synonyms

platan

plane tree

mulberry fig

lacewood

sycamore maple

sycamore fig

scottish maple

great maple

plane

buttonwood

Acer pseudoplatanus

Ficus sycomorus

plane-tree

mulberry

maple

sycamore moth

occidental plane

Scottish maple

fig-mulberry

american planetree

american sycamore

sycomore

sycamore tree

plane

caterpillar of sycamore

Translations

platane

sycomore

Platane

sicomoro

esdoorn

platanus

sicomoro

érable sycomore

sicómoro

plàtan

gewone esdoorn

plataan

Bergahorn

Maulbeer-Feige

sicòmor

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsɪkəmɔɹ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: sicamour

In summary

Circa 1350 as Middle English sicamour, from Old French sicamor, from Latin sȳcomorus, from Ancient Greek σῡκόμορος (sūkómoros, literally “fig-mulberry”), from σῦκον (sûkon, “fig”) + μόρον (móron, “mulberry”). Possibly influenced by Hebrew שִׁקְמָה (shikmá, “fig-mulberry”).
In the 16th c. applied to the European maple (Acer pseudoplatanus), in the early 19th c. to various plane tree species introduced to North America, perhaps in analogy to their shadiness.

Sentences

Maybe the church , with the sycamore growing from within , had been haunted .