May 8, 2009

The Etymology of Food, Part I: Why Nothing Rhymes With Orange

Bananas, courtesy Flickr user ian_ransley

Bananas, courtesy Flickr user ian_ransley

One of my college history professors once claimed that the reason there is no English word that rhymes with orange is that it is one of the few words derived from Persian. He was only partly right; according to the Dictionary of Word Origins, by John Ayto, the word entered our language in the 14th century from the French, who got it from the Spanish naranj (now naranja). The Spanish word was a variation of an Arabic word, which was itself an adaptation of a Persian word. But the word’s origin is in northern India, from Sanskrit.

The etymology of words, especially food words, is fascinating for what it can tell you about how a food was introduced to English (and American) palates. Of course, many food names, like foie gras and pad thai (which, according to my dictionary, first appeared in English in 1818 and 1978, respectively), enter our language unaltered from their original sources. But many more have interesting histories. I spent hours leafing through Ayto’s book. (He also compiled the Glutton’s Glossary, all about the origins of food words, which is on my to-read list). There’s too much to cover in one post, so I’ll focus on fruit words for now and turn to other foods in a future post.

Orange, the fruit, actually had an even longer journey than its name. The earliest oranges grew wild in China, and were probably cultivated as early as 2500 B.C. By the time the word entered English, orange groves had been a common feature of Spain and Portugal for centuries, having been introduced by the Moors. Christopher Columbus brought citrus seeds to North America (specifically, to Hispaniola, the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) on his second voyage, in 1493.

The peach took a similar path. According to Ayto, its original Latin name, malum persicum, meant “‘Persian apple,’ reflecting the fact that the peach, a native of China, first became widely known in Europe when it reached Persia on its westward journey.” Like “orange,” “peach” entered English in the 14th century, following a stop in Old French.

Not all fruits originated in Asia: “Plum” and “prune” both come from the Greek proumnon, via Latin. Although plums also grew in China, European varieties were discovered as early as 2,000 years ago around the Caspian Sea. “Berry” has Germanic origins, and “fruit” comes from Latin.

“Banana” has a more exotic past. It entered the language in the 16th century from a West African language, possibly Wolof, which is spoken in Senegal and Gambia. After Spanish and Portuguese explorers encountered bananas, they passed both the fruit and the name along to England.

Interestingly, “apple” originally referred to any fruit when it emerged from Old English in the 12th century (its origins are a little hazy, though it is similar to the fruit’s name in other languages, including the German Apfel and the Dutch appel). According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, this may be the reason we now associate apples with the story of Adam and Eve, since the book of Genesis left the name of the “fruit of the forbidden tree” unnamed.

One of my favorite bits of trivia is about the origins of pineapple, which doesn’t sound very tasty if you think about it. Before the fruit was discovered, “pineapple” referred to pine-cones, Ayto writes, “but in the mid-17th century the name was transferred to the tropical plant whose juicy yellow-fleshed fruit was held to resemble a pine-cone.” Suddenly it all makes sense.



Posted By: Lisa Bramen — Food History, Fruits and Vegetables | Link | Comments (56)



56 Comments »

  1. Very enjoyable post, thanks!

    Comment by gemma — May 8, 2009 @ 12:53 pm

  2. There actually is a word pair that does rhyme with ‘orange/ — it’s door-hinge. OK, maybe it’s a little bit of a stretch.

    Comment by wethen — May 10, 2009 @ 11:24 am

  3. doorhinge rhymes with orange. i live in a town called orange, we know everything about it here.

    Comment by kelsey — May 10, 2009 @ 11:27 am

  4. Door hinge rhymes with orange!

    Comment by Dave — May 10, 2009 @ 11:27 am

  5. I ate an orange
    While looking through storage
    And eating my porrage

    Comment by seth — May 10, 2009 @ 11:27 am

  6. What about arrange – orange?

    Comment by S.Hart — May 10, 2009 @ 11:32 am

  7. Actually this is wrong The British Game-show Qi proves that there are two words that rhyme with orange, blorange and i think gloringe , they are real words, i think one is village or mountain and They also prove word that rhymes with Silver, that word was chilver, again i have forgotten what it means, but there are words that rhyme with these unrhymable words

    Comment by Sean — May 10, 2009 @ 11:34 am

  8. What about doorhenge.

    Comment by Rae — May 10, 2009 @ 11:43 am

  9. I still don’t get it. You never really explained WHY nothing rhymes with Orange.

    Comment by valenna — May 10, 2009 @ 11:46 am

  10. I still don’t get it. You never really explained WHY nothing rhymes with Orange. But thank you! :) ;)

    Comment by valenna — May 10, 2009 @ 11:47 am

  11. This does not really help in understanding why orange does not ryme with any thing.

    Comment by ??????????? — May 10, 2009 @ 11:48 am

  12. perty awesome, and interesting

    Comment by yogert — May 10, 2009 @ 11:53 am

  13. Orange rhymes with Doorhinge!

    Comment by Jason — May 10, 2009 @ 11:58 am

  14. OK. So what about silver and wolf ? What does word origin have to do with the fact that there are no words that rhyme ? Moon, spoon and June probably each have different origins but they rhyme. The fact that the origin of the word is interesting (and this will allow me to give an authoritative sounding answer when I am asked–as I often am–by passers-by on the street) doesn’t actually answer the question posed. Sorry to be so picky.

    Comment by David Yates — May 10, 2009 @ 11:58 am

  15. “Door hinge.”

    So there.

    Comment by bob — May 10, 2009 @ 12:06 pm

  16. Orange Rhymes with Doorhinge

    Comment by Jason — May 10, 2009 @ 12:10 pm

  17. “Then I got up and ran to the janitor’s storage booth.
    Kicked the door hinge loose and ripped out the four inch screws.
    Grabbed some sharp objects, brooms, and foreign tools.
    “This is for every time you took my orange juice, …”

    (from Brain Damage by Eminem)

    Comment by youlivnlearn — May 10, 2009 @ 12:17 pm

  18. UHm so why why doesn’t anything rhyme with orange? did i miss the explanation?

    Comment by Rich — May 10, 2009 @ 12:31 pm

  19. that’s really cool bit of information! For some reason, I really like learning about these things.

    Comment by Tyri — May 10, 2009 @ 12:35 pm

  20. Now we just have to find out why nothing rhymes with silver. Or purple.

    Comment by sandi — May 10, 2009 @ 12:38 pm

  21. porage rhymes with orange

    Comment by jesus diaz — May 10, 2009 @ 12:40 pm

  22. This was truly interesting … Thanks.

    Comment by Gina — May 10, 2009 @ 12:43 pm

  23. Doesn’t door hinge rhyme with orange?

    Comment by Spike — May 10, 2009 @ 12:44 pm

  24. syringe rhymes with orange dosen’t it?

    Comment by Chris — May 10, 2009 @ 12:46 pm

  25. Interesting Post I love little bits of trivia like this!

    Comment by Gregory — May 10, 2009 @ 12:48 pm

  26. What about the word porridge and orange?

    Comment by Jeremy — May 10, 2009 @ 12:49 pm

  27. Nice, very thorough and informative.

    Comment by lars — May 10, 2009 @ 12:59 pm

  28. Could it be that “orange” just refers to the color of this particular fruit?

    Comment by Neodymium — May 10, 2009 @ 1:07 pm

  29. The OED lists “sporange,” an obsolete word which is technically a rhyme for orange.

    I’d be interested in learning why “purple,” “silver,” and “month” don’t appear to have rhymes.

    Comment by DSM — May 10, 2009 @ 1:26 pm

  30. Orange rhymes with Door Hinge. Really interesting article!

    Comment by Yvonne — May 10, 2009 @ 1:28 pm

  31. Too bad door hinge isn’t one word

    Comment by ash — May 10, 2009 @ 1:29 pm

  32. It’s not a single word, but how about “door hinge” rhyming with orange? :c )

    Comment by Sytrus — May 10, 2009 @ 1:31 pm

  33. flange rhymes with orange

    Comment by ted — May 10, 2009 @ 1:32 pm

  34. the orange porridge
    flowed from my bowl
    soothing my ravished soul.

    (c) MarcusJ.5.10.’009

    Comment by marcus jeffers — May 10, 2009 @ 1:34 pm

  35. It is not only the fruit orange, but more widely, colors that have no rhymes, including silver, and purple. Why, though, do these colors all collectively have not rhymes in English? Thanks

    Comment by John Jensen — May 10, 2009 @ 1:34 pm

  36. Doesn’t the word “flange” rhyme with orange????

    Comment by Roscoe P Daltry — May 10, 2009 @ 1:35 pm

  37. makes sense thanks man!

    Comment by john — May 10, 2009 @ 1:35 pm

  38. fascinating

    Comment by Alister — May 10, 2009 @ 1:36 pm

  39. I am SO confused.
    I really could care less about the history of fruits.
    Especially on a nice Sunday.
    Just tell me straight out why nothing rhymes with orange?!

    Comment by Confused Person. — May 10, 2009 @ 1:37 pm

  40. Call me crazy, but I think everyone is wrong to say nothing rhymes with orange. Maybe us midwesterners pronounce things differently. However! in my humble opinion, orange rhymes with doorhinge.

    Comment by James — May 10, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

  41. This is interesting, however, you failed to answer the main question. “Why nothing rhymes with orange?” The title is very misleading.

    Comment by Partap — May 10, 2009 @ 1:40 pm

  42. Actually there are words that rhyme with oranges as this video demonstrates.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huuJVEotpaY

    Comment by Capnsaveemm — May 10, 2009 @ 1:46 pm

  43. How about doorhinge?

    Comment by bill — May 10, 2009 @ 1:49 pm

  44. doorhinge rhymes with orange

    Comment by Jonathan Fisk — May 10, 2009 @ 1:50 pm

  45. How about cringe?

    Comment by Barry — May 10, 2009 @ 1:51 pm

  46. Also there is month and purple that does not rhyme with another word in English that I know of.

    Comment by Walter H. Edwards — May 10, 2009 @ 1:55 pm

  47. GREAT POST!!!! Very interesting!

    Comment by Mary — May 10, 2009 @ 2:05 pm

  48. Door-hinge ryms with orange

    Comment by Ben — May 10, 2009 @ 2:17 pm

  49. So thats where oranges came from. Wait a minute isnt this article supposed to be about why no word rhymes with orange. I must have missed that part.

    Comment by Sean — May 10, 2009 @ 3:25 pm

  50. Dan Koeppel’s “Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World” says that the word banana derives from the Arabic “banan,” which translates as “finger” (p. 44 of the paperback edition). I don’t think he mentions Wolof or West African languages in his book. Could there be competing theories about the word’s origin?

    Comment by Marc — May 10, 2009 @ 4:52 pm

  51. Marc,

    That is interesting about the Arabic word “banan.” I checked a few dictionaries and all list the Wolof origin for our word “banana,” but I wonder if the West Africans picked up the Arabic word for finger to describe the fruit. In looking at the page you cite from Koeppel’s book on Amazon.com, I notice he also mentions that one variety of banana may have been brought to North Africa as a byproduct of a slave trade with Arab nations. Perhaps the word made its way to West Africa from there?

    Thanks for the comment.

    Comment by Lisa Bramen — May 11, 2009 @ 5:42 pm

  52. [...] week I wrote about the origins of words for fruits in English (and judging from the comments, irked a few [...]

    Pingback by The Etymology of Food, Part II: Meaty Stories | Food & Think — May 12, 2009 @ 11:44 am

  53. For all those that say they missed the origin…THINK, people! The reason why no other word rhymes with orange (the premise of the whole article) is that no other word passed from Sanskrit to Persian to Spanish in the 14th Century the way the word ORANGE did. It was right there in the text, how could so many of you miss the whole drift of the story?

    Comment by Steve — May 13, 2009 @ 6:16 pm

  54. door hinge isn’t one word….therefore there is no one word that rhymes with orange (flange doesn’t according to rhyming dictionary, but ppl pronounce things differently) and silver, purple, and month (all mentioned above) do not have rhymes either. interesting

    Comment by ash — May 13, 2009 @ 9:09 pm

  55. Well, how about ORANGE rhymes with FRINGE ?!
    “I hid behind the curtains eating my orange,
    when the juice spurted out and wet the fringe…
    boy, am I in trouble!”
    And SILVER rhymes with SLIVER!
    My granny gave me polish to shine up her silver,
    I rubbed so hard I got a sliver.
    ouch!”

    Sounds rhymed to me!

    Comment by Iris Miller — June 21, 2009 @ 7:39 am

  56. Thanks! You helped me a ton on my research project!

    Comment by a student — February 24, 2010 @ 3:34 pm

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