The World of Apples

The apples that aren't

Sweet orange

Citrus × aurantium, Rutaceae, the citrus family

Two oranges reached Europe by different roads. The bitter orange came from India through the Persians and Arabs, who brought it by way of Sicily to southern Europe in the Middle Ages; the sweet orange was brought from China by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century3,4. Kew now treats the sweet orange, long called Citrus sinensis, as part of Citrus × aurantium, which is known only in cultivation and comes from southern China2.

To tell the new fruit from the old, the Dutch named it after its country: Chinas-appelen in 1682, Sinaas Appelen in 1693, and in popular speech appelsien3. Through the North Sea ports the name reached German early in the eighteenth century as Apel de Sina and Appelsina, and Apfelsine prevailed in the north from the second half of that century, while the south kept Orange4. Amsterdam, with Hamburg, supplied much of northern Europe with oranges, and the word went with them into Danish, Swedish and Russian3,5,6.

Modern Hebrew made its own apple of it: tapúz, a blend of tapúakh, apple, and zaháv, gold7.

Where the sources disagree

  • When the sweet orange came. The Dutch and German dictionaries say the sixteenth century3,4; Ewoud Sanders, quoted in the Dutch source, puts the first seeds at about 1548, and older Dutch dictionaries at about 15003.

Sources

  1. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Citrus sinensis, Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Supports: Citrus sinensis as a synonym of the accepted Citrus × aurantium; the family.
  2. Plants of the World Online: Citrus × sinensis, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Supports: Citrus × sinensis as a synonym of Citrus × aurantium f. aurantium; the range of Citrus × aurantium, "as a cultigen from S. China".
  3. sinaasappel, Etymologiebank, quoting the Etymologisch Woordenboek van het Nederlands (2003–2009), Ewoud Sanders (2004), De Vries (1971) and others. Supports: the bitter orange from India by way of the Persians, Arabs and Sicily; the sweet orange from China by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, about 1548 or about 1500 by other accounts; Chinas-appelen in 1682 and Sinaas Appelen in 1693; the popular appelsien; Amsterdam and Hamburg supplying northern Europe; the word in German, Danish, Swedish and Russian.
  4. Apfelsine, Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, with Wolfgang Pfeifer's Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Supports: the sweet orange from China by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century; Low German Apel de Sina and Appelsina from Dutch appelsien in the early eighteenth century; Apfelsine prevailing in the north from the second half of that century, Orange in the south.
  5. apelsin, Wiktionary. Supports: Swedish apelsin from Low German Appelsina and Dutch appelsien, equivalent to äpple, apple, and Kina, China.
  6. апельсин, Wiktionary. Supports: Russian apel'sin borrowed from Dutch appelsien.
  7. תפוז, Wiktionary. Supports: Hebrew tapúz as a blend of tapúakh, apple, and zaháv, gold.