Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Ad·am's ap·ple Pronunciation:
"ad-&m-'zap-&l Function:
noun : the projection in the front of the neck that is formed by thethyroid cartilage and is particularly prominent in males
Adam, biblical character. According to the Bible, Adam was the first man, the husband of Eve, and later the father of Cain and Abel.Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden until they ate a forbidden fruit, traditionally held to be an apple. As a punishment they were expelled from Eden. Adam lived a total of 930 years. The term
Adam's apple arose through a misinterpretation of the Hebrew for “protuberance on man” used to denote this anatomical part. The late Hebrew word for protuberance is very similar tothe word for apple, and Adam in Hebrew can refer to “man” in general as well as the biblical figure. Thus the expression was misinterpreted, perhaps owing to the association of Adam withapples.
