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orange

 - 9 dictionary results

or⋅ange

  [awr-inj, or-]
Use orange in a Sentence
–noun
1. a globose, reddish-yellow, bitter or sweet, edible citrus fruit.
2. any white-flowered, evergreen citrus trees of the genus Citrus, bearing this fruit, as C. aurantium (bitter orange, Seville orange, or sour orange) and C. sinensis (sweet orange), cultivated in warm countries.
3. any of several other citrus trees, as the trifoliate orange.
4. any of several trees or fruits resembling an orange.
5. a color between yellow and red in the spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 590 and 610 nm; reddish yellow.
6. Art. a secondary color that has been formed by the mixture of red and yellow pigments.
–adjective
7. of or pertaining to the orange.
8. made or prepared with oranges or orangelike flavoring: orange sherbet.
9. of the color orange; reddish-yellow.
Origin:
1300–50; ME: the fruit or tree < OF orenge, c. Sp naranja < Ar nāranj < Pers nārang < Skt nāraṅga

Or⋅ange

  [awr-inj, or-; Fr. aw-rahnzh for 3, 6]
–noun
1. a member of a European princely family ruling in the United Kingdom from 1688 to 1694 and in the Netherlands since 1815.
2. a river in the Republic of South Africa, flowing W from Lesotho to the Atlantic. 1300 mi. (2095 km) long.
3. a former small principality of W Europe: now in the SE part of France.
4. a city in SW California, near Los Angeles. 91,788.
5. a city in NE New Jersey, near Newark. 31,136.
6. a town in SE France, near Avignon: Roman ruins. 26,468.
7. a city in SE Texas. 23,628.
8. a town in S Connecticut. 13,237.
9. Fort. Fort Orange.

orange III

 
–noun Chemistry.
methyl orange.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To orange
or·ange   (ôr'ĭnj, ŏr'-)   
n.  

    1. Any of several southeast Asian evergreen trees of the genus Citrus, widely cultivated in warm regions and having fragrant white flowers and round fruit with a yellowish or reddish rind and a sectioned, pulpy interior, especially C. sinensis, the sweet orange, and C. aurantium, the Seville or sour orange.

    2. The fruit of any of these trees, having a sweetish, acidic juice.

  2. Any of several similar plants, such as the Osage orange and the mock orange.

  3. The hue of that portion of the visible spectrum lying between red and yellow, evoked in the human observer by radiant energy with wavelengths of approximately 590 to 630 nanometers; any of a group of colors between red and yellow in hue, of medium lightness and moderate saturation.

adj.  

  1. Of the color orange.

  2. Made from oranges.

  3. Tasting or smelling like oranges.


[Middle English, from Old French pume orenge, translation and alteration (influenced by Orenge, Orange, a town in France) of Old Italian melarancio : mela, fruit + arancio, orange tree (alteration of Arabic nāranj, from Persian nārang, from Sanskrit nāraṅgaḥ, possibly of Dravidian origin).]
or'ang·y, or'ang·ey (-ĭn-jē) adj.
Word History: Oranges imported to China from the United States reflect a journey come full circle, for the orange had worked its way westward for centuries, originating in China, then being introduced to India, and traveling on to the Middle East, into Europe, and finally to the New World. The history of the word orange keeps step with this journey only part of the way. The word is possibly ultimately from Dravidian, a family of languages spoken in southern India and northern Sri Lanka. The Dravidian word or words were adopted into the Indo-European language Sanskrit with the form nāraṅgaḥ. As the fruit passed westward, so did the word, as evidenced by Persian nārang and Arabic nāranj. Arabs brought the first oranges to Spain, and the fruit rapidly spread throughout Europe. The important word for the development of our term is Old Italian melarancio, derived from mela, "fruit," and arancio, "orange tree," from Arabic nāranj. Old Italian melarancio was translated into Old French as pume orenge, the o replacing the a because of the influence of the name of the town of Orange, from which oranges reached the northern part of France. The final stage of the odyssey of the word was its borrowing into English from the Old French form orenge. Our word is first recorded in Middle English in a text probably composed around 1380, a time preceding the arrival of the orange in the New World.
Or·ange 1   (ôr'ĭnj, ŏr'-)   
Princely family of Europe ruling continuously in the Netherlands since 1815. The name was first used for a former principality of southeast France that passed to the house of Nassau in 1530.
Or·ange 2   (ôr'ĭnj, ŏr'-)   
A city of southern California north-northeast of Santa Ana. It is a manufacturing center in a citrus-growing area. Population: 135,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

orange 
c.1300, from O.Fr. orenge (12c.), from M.L. pomum de orenge, from It. arancia, originally narancia (Venetian naranza), alt. of Ar. naranj, from Pers. narang, from Skt. naranga-s "orange tree," of uncertain origin. Loss of initial n- probably due to confusion with definite article (e.g. une narange, una narancia), but perhaps infl. by Fr. or "gold." The tree's original range probably was northern India. The Persian orange, grown widely in southern Europe after its introduction in Italy 11c., was bitter; sweet oranges were brought to Europe 15c. from India by Portuguese traders and quickly displaced the bitter variety, but only Mod.Gk. still seems to distinguish the bitter (nerantzi) from the sweet (portokali "Portuguese") orange. Portuguese, Spanish, Arab, and Dutch sailors planted citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy. On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus brought the seeds of oranges, lemons and citrons to Haiti and the Caribbean. Introduced in Florida (along with lemons) in 1513 by Sp. explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. Introduced to Hawaii 1792. Not used as the name of a color until 1542.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: or·ange
Pronunciation: 'är-inj, 'or-
Function: noun
1 a : a globose berry with a yellowish to reddish orange rind and a sweetedible pulp b : any of various rather small evergreen trees (genus Citrus) with ovate unifoliolate leaves, hard yellow wood, fragrant white flowers, and fruits that are oranges
2 often capitalized : AGENT ORANGE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Encyclopedia

Orange

city, east-central New South Wales, Australia. It is located near the slopes of Mount Canobolas, an extinct volcano. In 1828 the area was named by Sir Thomas Mitchell in memory of the Prince of Orange, his commander during the Peninsular War, and the village of Orange was proclaimed in 1846. It grew after the announcement in 1851 of payable gold deposits at nearby Ophir. Farming replaced mining, and Orange is now the centre of a fruit-growing (mainly apples), mixed-farming, and grazing area. It has stockyards and abattoirs, and light-industrial development includes the manufacture of electrical appliances. It was proclaimed a town in 1885 and a city in 1946. In 1972 it was proclaimed part of the Bathurst-Orange Growth Area, designed to promote decentralization. Orange is noted for its parks and its October cherry blossom festival. Pop. (2006) local government area, 35,339.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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