apple
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈæp.l̩/
ipa: /ˈapəl/
ipa: [ɛːpɐl]
ipa: /ˈapɪl/
ipa: /ˈɑpɪl/
ipa: [-ɘl ~ -ɘɭ]
Forms: form: apples
form: appling
form: appled
form: appled
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl
Proto-Germanic *aplaz
Proto-West Germanic *applu
Old English æppel
Middle English appel
English apple
The noun is derived from Middle English appel (“Malus domestica fruit or tree, apple; any type of fruit, nut, or tuber; tree bearing fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; (Christianity) forbidden fruit in Eden”), from Old English æppel (“apple; any type of fruit; (figurative) ball, sphere; eyeball”), from Proto-West Germanic *applu (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Germanic *aplaz (“apple; any type of fruit”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ébōl, *h₂ébl̥ (“apple”).
As regards sense 1.4 (“forbidden fruit”), the type of fruit eaten by Adam and Eve is not identified in the Book of Genesis in the Bible. It may have come to be identified with the apple because of the similarity between Latin mālum (“apple”) and malum (“evil; misery, torment; wrongdoing”).
The verb is derived from the noun.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots aipple (“apple”), North Frisian aapel, Oapel, ååpel (“apple”), Saterland Frisian Apel, Appel (“apple”), West Frisian apel, appel (“apple”), Alemannic German effél, epfel, epfil, öpfil (“apple”), Bavarian eipfele, epfl, Åpfe (“apple”), Cimbrian oupfal, öpfel, öpfl (“apple”), Dutch appel (“apple”), German Apfel (“apple”), German Low German Appel (“apple”), Limburgish Ape̩l, appel (“apple”), Luxembourgish Apel (“apple”), Mòcheno epfl (“apple”), Vilamovian epuł (“apple”), Yiddish עפּל (epl, “apple”), Danish æble (“apple”), Faroese epl, epli (“apple; potato”), Icelandic epli (“apple”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk eple (“apple”), Swedish äpple (“apple”), Crimean Gothic apel (“apple”), Irish úll (“apple”), Lithuanian óbuolỹs (“apple”), Russian я́блоко (jábloko, “apple”), Welsh afal (“apple”), possibly Ancient Greek ἄμπελος (ámpelos, “vine”).
Senses: examples: text: To choose responsibly, our active citizen must know what is being offered, much of this knowledge being filtered through appearance: things must look what they are supposed to be. Apples must look like applies. One might say they have to be appled-up; varieties are selected for marketing which have the most apple-like qualities.
ref: 1992, Marilyn Strathern, “Enterprising Kinship: Consumer Choice and the New Reproductive Technologies”, in Reproducing the Future: Essays on Anthropology, Kinship and the New Reproductive Technologies, Manchester: Manchester University Press, →ISBN, part I, page 38:
text: A large smile appled his full cheeks as the four sprytes eagerly served themselves from the seeds and thinly sliced fruits.
ref: 2007, Claudia D. Newcorn, chapter 4, in Crossover (Chronicles of Feyree; scroll 1), [United States]: Theogony Books, published 2021, →ISBN, page 35:
glosses: To make (something) appear like an apple (noun sense 1.1).
examples: text: He glanced at me, his cheeks appled in the impish grin I was learning to recognise as the clever under-side of his broad and gentle smile.
ref: 2003, Gregory David Roberts, chapter 1, in Shantaram, London: Hachette Digital, published 2012, →ISBN, part 1:
text: She smiled, and her cheeks appled up and her teeth were big and flat and her mouth was wide and spacious like an open invitation.
ref: 2011, Cynthia Robinson, chapter 10, in The Barbary Dogs (A Thomas Dunne Book), New York, N.Y.: Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 57:
glosses: To become like an apple.
glosses: To collect fir-cones.
examples: text: As for Scolymus [possibly type of artichoke?], it differeth from the reſt of theſe Thiſtles herein, That the root, if it be ſodden, it is good to be eaten: beſides, it hath a ſtraunge nature, for all the ſort of them during the Summer throughout, never reſt and give over, but either they floure, or they apple, or els be readie to bring foorth fruit: […]
ref: 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book XXI.] Of Carduus, and Ixine: Of Tribulus and Anchusa.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 2nd tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 98:
text: To Pome or Apple, is ſaid of the Heads of Artichokes vvhen they grovv round, and full ſhaped as an Apple. It is ſaid alſo of Lettuce, &c.
ref: [1693, John Evelyn, “The Dictionary. An Explication of the Terms of Gard’ning, in an Alphabetical Order. To Pome or Apple.”, in De La Quintinye [i.e., Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie], translated by John Evelyn, The Compleat Gard’ner; or, Directions for Cultivating and Right Ordering of Fruit-gardens; […], London: […] Matthew Gillyflower, […], and James Partridge, […], →OCLC, column 1:
text: You may novv ſovv upon moderate hot-beds, a fevv of the ſmall ſalad ſeeds, ſuch as VVhite Muſtard, Rape, Creſſes, and Cabbage Lettuces, and you may also ſovv upon other hot-beds, not to be drawn until they are pretty large and vvell appled, Radiſhes and Turnips, obſerving to ſovv them very thin, that the plants may have room to ſvvell and grovv; […]
ref: 1759, James Justice, “November”, in The British Gardener’s Calendar, […], Edinburgh: […] R. Fleming, →OCLC, page 307:
text: The cabbage turnep is of tvvo kinds; one apples above ground, and the other in it.
ref: 1798, Charles Marshall, “Section XV. Of Esculents.”, in An Introduction to the Knowledge and Practice of Gardening, […], 2nd edition, London: […] John Rider, for F[rancis] and C[harles] Rivington, […], →OCLC, page 251:
text: Some, however, recommend that the seed collected from a few turnips thus transplanted, should be preserved and sown in drills, in order to raise plants for see for the general crop, drawing out all such as are weak and improper, leaving only those that are strong and which take the lead; and that when these have appled or formed bulbs, to again take out such as do not appear good and perfect, as by this means turnip seed may be procured, not only of a more vigorous nature, but which is capable of vegetating with less moisture and which produces stronger and more hardy plants.
ref: 1807, Thomas Potts, “TURNIPS”, in The British Farmer’s Cyclopædia; or, Complete Agricultural Dictionary; […], London: […] W. Flint, […], for Scatcherd and Letterman, […], and M. Jones, […], →OCLC, column 2:
qualifier: obsolete except UK
glosses: Of a flower bud or vegetable (especially a root vegetable): to grow into the shape of an apple.
Derived terms: word: appleing
word: appling