ܫܰܪܘܰܝܢܳܐ [†] šrwynʾ šarwaynā fir-tree, a kind of cedar; the cypress-tree
Allotrope: ܫܘܼܪܒܝܼܢܵܐ šwrbynʾ šurbinā
Some scholars, as e.g. Hübschmann, assume an Iranian origin, and compare NP sarv the cypress-tree (Steingass 679); MP sarw id. (CPD 74); NP šarbīn a tree from which flows liquid pitch (Oxycedrus); the larch (Steingass 740); Arm. saroy a tree (Hübschmann AG 237, no. 574); on the other hand, LS prefers a Semitic origin, and refers to Akkad. šurmēnu: in fact, as Leonid Kogan points out (personal communication), the word is attested in Akkad. from the earliest periods, and an Iranian origin seems impossible. See also ṣrwʾ ● šrwynʾ 1Rg 5, 22; ES 1, 456A; Afr 387, 6; PsC 186, 3; Geop 19, 28; Gal ZDMG 39, 270, 7; šwrbynʾ AS 156, 26; BB 1957u; Geop 103, 17; 19, 28 ◆ LS 807a–b, 806b; Duval index pers. 221