apple English · revision 3330

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 885|origins=ine-pro *ab(e)l-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈæp.ᵊl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|appel]],^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|ang|æppel|t=apple; any fruit]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*aplaz]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) from [[ine-pro|*ab(e)l-|t=apple]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) though the exact relation of the related words and their first sense are uncertain.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) It is cognate with Dutch appel, German Apfel and Old Norse epli,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and with Old Irish ubull, Welsh afal, Old Church Slavonic jablŭko and Lithuanian obuolys.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) A connection has been suggested with the town of Abella in Campania, which Virgil called “apple-bearing”.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fruit of the apple tree: about 885 in the OED,^(OED 1989) before 899 in Alfred's translation of Gregory's ''Pastoral Care'' in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English, and in Middle English until the 17th century, apple could mean any fruit (except berries) and even nuts:^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline) Old English fingeræppla “finger-apples” were dates, eorþæppla “earth-apples” cucumbers, and Middle English appel of paradis was the banana.^(Etymonline) 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”.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The ''apple of discord'', which Eris threw among the goddesses, is from about 1400.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''The apple of one's eye'' first meant the pupil, once thought to be a solid ball, and then anything precious.^(Cresswell 2021) A ''rotten apple'' that spoils others is from Middle English,^(Cresswell 2021) and the proverb ''an apple a day keeps the doctor away'' is from the 19th century.^(Cresswell 2021) New York City has been called ''the Big Apple'' since the 1920s.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 885 – the fruit of the apple tree.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – any fruit; the forbidden fruit.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1250 – in names of other fruits.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1400 – the ''apple of discord''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1729 – in botany, a pome.^(OED 1989)

+ * 19th century – “an apple a day…”.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The firm, rounded, edible fruit of a [[deciduous]] tree of the rose family, with red, yellow or green skin.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The tree that bears this fruit.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Any of several other plants or fruits that resemble the apple, as the [[May apple]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[applecart]]

+ * [[apple-cheeked]]

+ * [[applejack]]

+ * [[apple-knocker]]

+ * [[apple-polish]]

+ * [[applesauce]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pome]]

+ * [[pomegranate]]

+ * [[melon]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}