the word 'sycamore' entered english in the 14th century from old french 'sicamor', which derived from latin 'sycamorus'. this latin term was itself a borrowing from the ancient greek 'sūkomoros', a compound believed to be from 'sūkon' (fig) and 'moron' (mulberry). this name reflects the greeks' observation of a tree with leaves resembling a mulberry and fruit resembling a fig. through a series of transliterations and semantic shifts, the name was later applied in europe and north america to trees of different genera (like the plane maple and a type of fig) that shared superficial characteristics with the original mediterranean tree described by the ancients.

the word is a simplex loanword. its components, 'syca' and 'more', are not independent morphemes in english; they are a single unit borrowed from the latin spelling of the greek word.