medlar

A fruit and the tree that bears it.

Played on 2 November 2026 · Day 58 · word 5 of 5

Six forms for a small fruit

How medlar reached English

oldest first

Greek
mespilon
‘The medlar’
into Latin
Latin
mespilum
‘A medlar, or the medlar tree’
into Anglo-French
Anglo-French
medle
‘The medlar, a small brown-skinned fruit’
within Anglo-French
Anglo-French
medler
‘The medlar tree’
into Middle English
Middle English
medeler
‘The medlar tree or its fruit’
became English
English
medlar
‘The fruit or tree’

The route moves from Greek through Latin to a French fruit word and its derivative, then into English.

The two Anglo-French forms represent a derivation within one language.

Merriam-Webster: medlar
The entry supplies all six selected formation and borrowing steps.
Anglo-Norman Dictionary · medler 1
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.
logeion.uchicago.edu · mespilum
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.
Online Etymology Dictionary · medlar
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.
logeion.uchicago.edu · μέσπιλον
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.
Anglo-Norman Dictionary · medle
Meanings of the older forms on the word path.

The r added to the French fruit word survives through the later English spellings.

Every day, everyone gets the same five words.