sporkehout

Dutch

Frangula alnus

Etymology

The first element derives, with metathesis, from Middle Dutch sproc (“twig, faggot”) (whence sprokkelen (“to gather [brushwood]”), sprokkelhout (“brushwood”)), perhaps in reference to the brittleness of the wood: compare the genus name Frangula, deriving from Latin frangulus (“fragile”), and also the dialectal Dutch adjective sprok (“brittle, fragile”). The second element is hout (“wood”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspɔr.kəˌɦɑu̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

sporkehout n (uncountable)

1. alder buckthorn (Frangula alnus)

   Synonym: vuilboom

Further reading

• sporkehout on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl