Damson: A Clipped Fruit with a Long Memory

Damson is one of those words that feels deeply English — a hedgerow fruit, sharp and dark, bound for jam jars and crumbles. But the name has a longer story. It began as prunum damascenum — the ‘plum of Damascus’ — brought west from Syria by Roman traders. Over time, English clipped the phrase down to a single syllable, while other languages kept the city in view: ciruela de Damasco (Spanish), prune de Damas (French), prugna di Damasco (Italian), δαμάσκηνο (Greek).