# plum



## Encolpius

Hello, I have known and would use the word švestka, but have found there is another Czech word for plum which is *slíva*. All Slavic language use the Old Slavic sliva for plum. I did not understand what the difference between švestka and slíva is in Czech, are they simply synonyms? Do native speakers know and use the word *slíva*? Thanks.


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## Tchesko

Yes, _slíva _is a quite common word. The difference between _švestka _and _slíva _is a bit ambiguous as _slíva _can refer to two different things:
- biologically speaking, it is a subspecies of the plum (_slivoň slíva_) - called _damson plum _in English according to Wikipedia, see here; its fruits are usually blue/violet and smaller than those of some other plum species; in the Czech Republic it is used for the making of _slivovice_. To complicate the things further, another term is sometimes used for this fruit: _trnka_, although the latter is usually wild (not cultivated: _prunus spinosa_).
- biologically speaking still, it also designates a genus (_prunus_ in English) consisting of several fruit species including the plum but also cherries, peaches, apricots, etc. It is rarely used this way in everyday Czech.
On top of that, I think it can also be used more or less interchangeably with the word _švestka _in everyday language, although the latter is more usual.


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## Hrdlodus

Great Tchesko's description.
If you want tell about the violet fruit, the best option is "švestka".
(The word "švestka" is used for plum-tree too.)


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## Encolpius

So, slivovice is made of slíva and not of švestka? I haven't known that.


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## NokFrt

"slivovice" can be made of "švestka" or "slíva" or "bluma". I'm not an expert, but for me is "švestka" the same as "slíva", but the word "švestka" is much more common.


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## Tchesko

Encolpius said:


> So, slivovice is made of slíva and not of švestka? I haven't known that.



Well, it is made of _slíva_ which is a subspecies of _švestka_. But anyone will tell you that it is made of _švestka_...
By the way, there is a music festival taking place every year end August in Vizovice (South Moravia) where _slivovice _is made. The festival is called _Trnkobraní _and on its webpage you can read:

_Trnkobraní, které slaví letos již 45 let od svého vzniku, založili  vizovičtí nadšenci, aby oslavili nejvýznamnější plod tohoto regionu -  švestku (valašsky trnku) a její tradiční a oblíbený produkt – pravou  valašskou slivovici.
Trnkobraní, celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, was founded by aficionados from Vizovice__ in order to celebrate the most important fruit of the region -_  švestka_ (_trnka_ in Wallachian dialect) and its__ traditional and popular product - the genuine Wallachian _slivovice_._​
The fact that the word _trnka_ is used regionally to designate _švestka _or_slíva_ sometimes leads to misunderstandings, examples of which can be found online (e.g. here).


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