Etymologically
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apple

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈæp.ᵊl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English appel,[2][3] inherited from Old English æppel (“apple; any fruit”),[2][4] from Proto-Germanic *aplaz,[2][4][5] from Proto-Indo-European *ab(e)l- (“apple”),[2][4] though the exact relation of the related words and their first sense are uncertain.[2][6] It is cognate with Dutch appel, German Apfel and Old Norse epli,[2][4][5] and with Old Irish ubull, Welsh afal, Old Church Slavonic jablŭko and Lithuanian obuolys.[4][2][5] A connection has been suggested with the town of Abella in Campania, which Virgil called “apple-bearing”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fruit of the apple tree: about 885 in the OED,[7] before 899 in Alfred's translation of Gregory's Pastoral Care in Barnhart.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old English, and in Middle English until the 17th century, apple could mean any fruit (except berries) and even nuts:[6][2] Old English fingeræppla “finger-apples” were dates, eorþæppla “earth-apples” cucumbers, and Middle English appel of paradis was the banana.[2] Because of this general sense, the unnamed fruit of the forbidden tree in Genesis became an apple, though the King James Bible simply says “fruit”.[2][6] The apple of discord, which Eris threw among the goddesses, is from about 1400.[2][7] The apple of one's eye first meant the pupil, once thought to be a solid ball, and then anything precious.[6] A rotten apple that spoils others is from Middle English,[6] and the proverb an apple a day keeps the doctor away is from the 19th century.[6] New York City has been called the Big Apple since the 1920s.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 885 – the fruit of the apple tree.[7]
  • before 1000 – any fruit; the forbidden fruit.[7]
  • c. 1250 – in names of other fruits.[7]
  • c. 1400 – the apple of discord.[2][7]
  • 1729 – in botany, a pome.[7]
  • 19th century – “an apple a day…”.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The firm, rounded, edible fruit of a deciduous tree of the rose family, with red, yellow or green skin.
  2. The tree that bears this fruit.
  3. Any of several other plants or fruits that resemble the apple, as the May apple.

Word family

  • applecart
  • apple-cheeked
  • applejack
  • apple-knocker
  • apple-polish
  • applesauce
  • pome
  • pomegranate
  • melon

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press