FRUITFUL ETYMOLOGIES

Where Did The Kiwi Get Its Name? 10 Fruit Names Explained

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Ever wondered why "pineapple" combines "pine" and "apple," or why kiwis share their name with New Zealand's flightless bird? The origins of fruit names are as colorful and varied as the fruits themselves. Take a sweet bite of this article and dive into the fascinating etymologies behind these 10 well-loved fruits.

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The word "apple" originates from the Old English "æppel," which was a generic term for all fruits. Over time, its use narrowed specifically to the apple we know today.

Kind of underwhelming, eh? However, this might explain why there are so many different fruits named after apples. Also, since apples are thought to have been domesticated a whopping 10,000 years ago in Central Asia, the roots of their name can be traced back through many languages and centuries, showing how integral the fruit has been in various cultures.

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While the etymology of one of the world’s most popular fruits is a bit fuzzy due to its widespread cultural embrace, most researchers agree that the word "banana" stems from the Arabic banaan meaning finger. Believed to have been first domesticated in Southeast Asia, bananas were brought to the Western world by Arab traders who spread them across North Africa and into Spain.

The name, along with the fruit itself, was eventually introduced to the Americas by Portuguese sailors who brought bananas from West Africa in the 16th century.

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The word "orange" boasts some of the oldest roots on this list. It comes from the Sanskrit "nāraṅga," literally meaning "orange tree," and passed through Persian and Arabic before entering European languages.

Interestingly, the fruit’s name predates the use of "orange" to describe the color in English. Beyond its intriguing etymology, oranges have a fascinating botanical history: they are actually hybrids of ancient citrus varieties, specifically mandarin and pomelo.

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According to various sources, the word "grape" may originate from a Proto-Germanic term meaning "to hook" (krappen), likely referring to the hook-like tool used for harvesting the fruit. Alternatively, it might derive from the Old French "grape," a collective singular meaning "a bunch of grapes" or vine stock.

Interestingly, in Old English, grapes were called "winberige," meaning "wine berry"—a practical name given their role in winemaking. However, this term was eventually replaced by the familiar "grape" following the Norman invasion of England.

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Indigenous to South America, the sweet and tangy pineapple surprised European explorers with its resemblance to a pine cone. Curiously, the first European to encounter the pineapple was Columbus, who brought it back to Spain and called it "piña de Indes," meaning "pine of the Indians."

The fruit became a huge hit, captivating Europeans with both its taste and exotic appearance. It quickly became a status symbol, with pineapples often purchased at exorbitant prices and displayed for months in royal courts before being consumed—only when they started to rot.

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Although cherries have been consumed since prehistoric times, the English word "cherry" comes from the Old French "cherise," which in turn derives from the Latin "cerasum." This Latin term referred to the ancient Greek region of Kerasous, near modern-day Turkey, where cherries are believed to have been first cultivated and then exported throughout Europe.

Interestingly, the name "cherry" is also used for several fruits that are similar in size and shape but not botanically related to the true cherry, such as the Jamaican and Spanish cherries.

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The word "peach" is derived from the Latin "persica," meaning "Persian apple," reflecting the ancient belief that the fruit originated in Persia (modern-day Iran). However, recent genetic studies suggest that peaches actually originated in China, where they have been cultivated since the Neolithic period.

While some believe that peaches were brought to Europe by Alexander the Great following his conquests in Persia, there is no historical evidence to support this claim. Nevertheless, the Romans were already quite familiar with peaches by the first century AD, indicating that extensive trade routes for the fruit must have existed.

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Cultivated in Southeast Asia since ancient times, the word for mango stems from the Tamil word "mankay," where "man" refers to the tree and "kay" to the fruit. Portuguese traders who encountered the fruit in India brought the term to Europe in the 16th century as "manga."

The scientific name for the fruit, Mangifera indica, quite literally refers to a plant that produces mangoes in India. Fun fact: the similar Latin word "mango," meaning dealer or trader, is completely unrelated. It is, in fact, the origin of the English word "monger" (as in "fishmonger").

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Another victim of apples' popularity, the word "pomegranate" is derived from the Latin "pomum" (meaning apple) and "granatum" (seeded), reflecting its unique botanical structure, filled with numerous seeds. The Old French term "pomme-grenade" influenced the modern English form.

In early English, the fruit was known as "apple of Grenada," a term that resulted from an etymological confusion, mistakenly linking the Spanish city of Granada (derived from an unrelated Arabic word) with the Latin roots of the word.

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Who came first—the bird or the fruit? Kiwis (the fruits) have long puzzled their discoverers. A 1904 English nursery catalog described them as having "...edible fruits the size of walnuts, and the flavor of ripe gooseberries." Due to this resemblance, the fruit was initially known in Western exports as the Chinese gooseberry (just to clarify, gooseberries are definitely not related to geese).

However, when New Zealand growers began cultivating the fruit, they noted its brown, fuzzy appearance reminiscent of the flightless kiwi bird and decided to rename it kiwifruit for marketing purposes. Interestingly, another name for the fruit at the time was melonette. However, due to exceedingly high U.S. tariffs on melon imports, most growers chose to go the safe route and adopt the kiwi name, leading to the familiar term we use today.

LANGUAGE MYSTERIES REVEALED

Fit for a queen: 10 English words derived from Ancient Egyptian

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You are probably aware that the English language has Greek and Latin roots. But did you know some of the most used English words actually derive from Ancient Egyptian?

For example, the word pharaoh is a no-brainer. As you would imagine, it is an Ancient Egyptian word meaning "Great House", the place destined for a king. But can you recognize other influences in your everyday vocabulary? Keep reading to discover 10 English words you didn’t know were born in the land of Cleopatra.

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Today we use the word oasis to refer to a serene and unattainable place, but it derives from the ancient Egyptian term wehe, meaning "fertile land". Oases were very important for the ancient Egyptians. They served as a place of provisioning and rest for the great caravans of Bedouin traders from the interior of Africa.

The word later became waaH(a) in Arabic, and took its current form, oasis, when the Greek and Latin languages added it to their vocabulary. Finally, the Greek word passed into French with its original meaning and then to English in the second half of the 19th century.

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It turns out that the word adobe has been around for about 4,000 years, with relatively few changes in pronunciation and meaning. Contrary to what you might think, the word doesn’t come from a Native American language. It can be traced back to the Middle Egyptian word djebe or djobe, meaning "mud brick". The term underwent a minor transformation when it came in contact with the Arabic language and was later incorporated into the Spanish vocabulary when Northern African Arabs crossed over to Spain in the 8th century.

In modern English, the term adobe has come to mean a style of construction popular in the desert climates of North America, but in fact, it has its origins in the djobe vaults built in homes and underground tombs of Ancient Egypt.

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Although the first commercial flavored chewing gum was created in the United States in the 1860s and later gained worldwide popularity during WWII, the practice can be traced back to ancient civilizations. The word gum comes from the Latin gummi, which is a loan from the Greek kommi; the Greeks, in turn, took this word from the Ancient Egyptian qmy or qemi, meaning gum or resin.

Just like Native Americans, Ancient Egyptians also used to chew resin made from the sap of trees. Nowadays gum is a cheap treat, but back then it was very expensive and had to be imported. In Ancient Egypt only pharaohs and wealthy people could afford it, so now that you know, you’ll have a better appreciation for the lost packet of Dentin forgotten in the bottom of your bag.

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This colorless smelly gas gets its name from the Ancient Egyptian god Amun, meaning "the Hidden (One)". His temple, located in present-day Libya, is credited with producing the oldest form of ammonia, the ammoniacal salt obtained by burning camel dung.

The word was later adapted to Ammon by the Greeks. Today, this nitrogen and hydrogen compound is used in plastics, refrigeration, and cleaning solutions, however, Ancient Egyptian worshipers of Amun used ammonia to perform spiritual rites in his honor.

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The word ebonycan be traced back to several Ancient African languages. The English language takes it from the Latin ebenus, which in turn is a loan from the Greek ébenos. This Ancient Greek word derives from the Egyptian hbnj, which seems to originate from the Nubian language.

Ebony is the name for certain trees of the genus Diospyros, as well as its prized exotic black wood. This wood, like gum, was imported and very expensive, so it was used for furnishings and decorative carvings in houses of the wealthiest classes in Ancient Egyptian society.

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Did you know that ebony and ivory have more in common than just piano keys and an iconic 1980s song? Like ebony, the word ivory can be traced back to Ancient Egypt. It comes from the Latin eboreus whose origin is the Egyptian word ab, meaning "elephant," and more specifically abu, "elephant’s tooth."

In Ancient Egypt ivory was as precious as ebony, and it was used in jewelry and as an ornament in the decoration of rooms, furniture, and temples.

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In modern English barge is the word to name a flat-bottomed vessel, and for some reason, its shape instantly reminds us of ancient civilizations. The assumption is correct since the term derives from the Latin barca, which comes from the Ancient Egyptian word bar or bari. The bar was a type of boat used in the River Nile to transport food, construction materials, and royals and peasants alike.

The French language later took the Latin word and transformed it into barque, an ancestor of the English verb embark. The rest is history.

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Some etymologists establish that the word alchemy comes from the Arabic al-kīmiyā and the Ancient Greek khumeía. Other scholars argue that alchemy, used as a scientific term until the 1600s when it was debunked by the more accurate chemistry, is derived from kēme. In Ancient Egyptkēme meant "black earth" and was used to describe the fertile land in the Nile Valley.

The theory that the term alchemy has an Egyptian origin makes perfect sense. It is believed that the Egyptian city of Alexandria is where alchemical thought, a practice that combined science with religion and philosophy, was born.

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Lily and Susan are two very popular names in the English language and they have in common that they share an Ancient Egyptian origin. It turns out that they both refer to flowers too!

The English word lily has roots in the Latin līlia and ancient Greek leírion, which etymologists connect with ḥrrt, the ancient Egyptian word for "flower". Susan, at the same time, comes from the word sSn (seshen)meaning "lotus" or "water lily".

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The jury is still out with this one. If you look up the etymology of the English word desert you’ll find it derives from the Latin desertum, which means "an abandoned place". However, there might be a connection with the ancient Egyptian term deshret, which means "red land". Sounds very similar, right?

Sometimes it is not entirely possible to establish exactly where a word comes from, however, it is always a fun experience to compare different languages to find potential origins and connections that we had never thought possible.