| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
apple (ˈæpəl) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | See also crab apple a rosaceous tree, Malus sieversii, native to Central Asia but widely cultivated in temperate regions in many varieties, having pink or white fragrant flowers and firm rounded edible fruits |
| 2. | the fruit of this tree, having red, yellow, or green skin and crisp whitish flesh |
| 3. | the wood of this tree |
| 4. | love apple oak apple See also thorn apple any of several unrelated trees that have fruits similar to the apple, such as the custard apple, sugar apple, and May apple |
| 5. | apple of one's eye a person or thing that is very precious or much loved |
| 6. | bad apple, rotten apple a person with a corrupting influence |
| [Old English æppel; related to Old Saxon appel, Old Norse apall, Old High German apful] | |
apples (ˈæpəlz) ![]() | |
| —pl n | |
| 1. | See apples and pears |
| 2. | informal (Austral), (NZ) she's apples all is going well |
"A roted eppel amang þe holen, makeþ rotie þe yzounde." ["Ayenbite of Inwit," 1340]Apple of Discord (c.1400) was thrown into the wedding of Thetis and Peleus by Eris (goddess of chaos and discord), who had not been invited, and inscribed kallisti "To the Prettiest One." Paris, elected to choose which goddess should have it, gave it to Aphrodite, offending Hera and Athene, with consequences of the Trojan War, etc. Apple of one's eye (O.E.), symbol of what is most cherished, was the pupil, supposed to be a globular solid body. Apple-polisher "one who curries favor" first attested 1928 in student slang.
apple definition
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(Heb. tappuah, meaning "fragrance"). Probably the apricot or quince is intended by the word, as Palestine was too hot for the growth of apples proper. It is enumerated among the most valuable trees of Palestine (Joel 1:12), and frequently referred to in Canticles, and noted for its beauty (2:3, 5; 8:5). There is nothing to show that it was the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Dr. Tristram has suggested that the apricot has better claims than any other fruit-tree to be the apple of Scripture. It grows to a height of 30 feet, has a roundish mass of glossy leaves, and bears an orange coloured fruit that gives out a delicious perfume. The "apple of the eye" is the Heb. _ishon_, meaning manikin, i.e., the pupil of the eye (Prov. 7:2). (Comp. the promise, Zech. 2:8; the prayer, Ps. 17:8; and its fulfilment, Deut. 32:10.) The so-called "apple of Sodom" some have supposed to be the Solanum sanctum (Heb. hedek), rendered "brier" (q.v.) in Micah 7:4, a thorny plant bearing fruit like the potato-apple. This shrub abounds in the Jordan valley. (See ENGEDI.)