Etymology

Cognate with Serbo-Croatian srȉjemuša ‎(“ramson”), Slovene srę̑mša ‎(“bird cherry”), which appear alongside crȉjemuša, čremsa, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kermuṣ-, *śermuṣ-. From Proto-Indo-European *ḱrem-; compare Proto-Germanic *hramusô > Old English hramsa ‎(“ramson”), Old Irish crem ‎(“dog's leek, buckrams”), Ancient Greek κρόμυον ‎(krómuon, “onion”).

Other forms in *k include Old Church Slavonic чрѣмошь ‎(črěmošĭ, “ramson”), Russian черёмуха ‎(čerjómuxa, “bird cherry”) and Lithuanian dialectal kermušė ‎(“ramson”). A similar variance between Balto-Slavic *k and *ś can be found between šeima and kaimas; see for more.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɛrˈmʊk.ʃnʲɪs/