Where does “service tree” come from?

service tree (English) comes from Middle English serves, from Old English syrfe, from Vulgar Latin sorbea, from Latin sorbus, from Indo-European *ser-.

service tree (English): Either of two rare Old World deciduous trees,...

Definitions

  1. Either of two rare Old World deciduous trees,...

Ancestry of “service tree”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishserves—
2Old Englishsyrfeservice tree (Sorbus torminalis)
3Vulgar Latinsorbea—
4Latinsorbussorb; service tree; "Sorbus domestica"
5Indo-European*ser-—
Every word from Indo-European *ser- →Every word from Latin sorbus →Every word from Vulgar Latin sorbea →