Phrase guide

service tree

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Either of two rare Old World deciduous trees, Sorbus domestica or Sorbus torminalis.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, botany, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of various North American trees or shrubs having showy white flowers and edible blue-black or purplish fruit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Juneberry, serviceberry, shadbush, shadblow

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: shrub, bush

Narrower terms: alderleaf Juneberry, alder-leaved serviceberry, Amelanchier alnifolia, Bartram Juneberry, Amelanchier bartramiana

3

noun

Meaning 3

medium-sized European tree resembling the rowan but bearing edible fruit

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sorb apple, sorb apple tree, Sorbus domestica

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mountain ash

Narrower terms: wild service tree, Sorbus torminalis

History

Etymology

Properly, the tree that bears sorb fruit, from Middle English serves, plural of serve (“sorb apple, serviceberry”), from Old English syrfe, from Vulgar Latin *sorbea, from Latin sorbus (“service tree”). See sorb. Not related to service, though it influenced its spelling

Across languages

Translations

56 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: vadhë e butë — Sorbus domestica
  • Albanian: shurbë — Sorbus domestica
  • Arabic: غُبَيْرَاء مستأنسة (ḡubayrāʔ mustanasa) — Sorbus domestica
  • Aramaic: כנפא — Sorbus domestica
  • Armenian: արոսենի մշակովի (aroseni mšakovi) — Sorbus domestica
  • Basque: gurbe — Sorbus domestica
  • Basque: gurbeondo — Sorbus domestica
  • Bulgarian: скоруша (skoruša) — Sorbus domestica
  • Bulgarian: оскруша (oskruša) — Sorbus domestica
  • Catalan: servera — Sorbus domestica
  • Corsican: sorbu — Sorbus domestica
  • Czech: oskeruše — Sorbus domestica
  • Danish: storfrugtet røn — Sorbus domestica
  • Dutch: peervormige lijsterbes — Sorbus domestica
  • Esperanto: sorpo — Sorbus domestica
  • Finnish: välimerenpihlaja — Sorbus domestica
  • French: sorbier domestique — Sorbus domestica
  • French: cormier — Sorbus domestica
  • French: sorbier — Sorbus domestica
  • Galician: sorbeira — Sorbus domestica
  • Galician: raño — Sorbus domestica
  • German: Speierling — Sorbus domestica
  • German: Sperberbaum — Sorbus domestica
  • German: Sporapfel — Sorbus domestica
  • Greek: σουρβιά η οικιακή (sourviá i oikiakí) — Sorbus domestica
  • Ancient Greek: ὄᾱ (óā) — Sorbus domestica
  • Hungarian: kerti berkenye — Sorbus domestica
  • Icelandic: perureynir — Sorbus domestica
  • Italian: sorbo domestico — Sorbus domestica
  • Latin: sorbus — Sorbus domestica
  • Luxembourgish: Spirebam — Sorbus domestica
  • Macedonian: оско́руша (oskóruša) — Sorbus domestica
  • Macedonian: ско́руша (skóruša) — Sorbus domestica
  • Norwegian: edelrogn — Sorbus domestica
  • Occitan: serbièr — Sorbus domestica
  • Occitan: asperbièr — Sorbus domestica
  • Old English: syrftrēow — Sorbus domestica
  • Picard: cormié — Sorbus domestica
  • Polish: jarząb domowy — Sorbus domestica
  • Portuguese: sorva — Sorbus domestica
  • Portuguese: sorveira — Sorbus domestica
  • Romanian: scoruș — Sorbus domestica
  • Romansh: sorber dumesti — Sorbus domestica
  • Russian: рябина домашняя (rjabina domašnjaja) — Sorbus domestica
  • Serbo-Croatian: osokor — Sorbus domestica
  • Slovak: oskoruša — Sorbus domestica
  • Slovene: oskoruš — Sorbus domestica
  • Upper Sorbian: domjaca wjerjebina — Sorbus domestica
  • Spanish: serbal común — Sorbus domestica
  • Spanish: sorbo — Sorbus domestica
  • Swedish: äppelrönn — Sorbus domestica
  • Swedish: päronrönn — Sorbus domestica
  • Turkish: üvez — Sorbus domestica
  • Ukrainian: горобина домашня (horobyna domašnja) — Sorbus domestica
  • Welsh: cerddinen Morgannwg — Sorbus domestica
  • Welsh: cerddinen ddof — Sorbus domestica