HISTOHT OF TlfE APTLE. 27 



respecting them. As he who would investigate the history 

 of our great national grain crop, the noble Indian maize, 

 which, in our language, claims the generic term com, will 

 at once meet with terms apt to mislead him in the English 

 translation of the Bible, and in the writings of Europeans, 

 who use the word corn in a generic sense, as applying to 

 all the edible grains, and especially to wheat — so in this 

 investigation we may easily be misled by meeting the 

 word apple in the Bible and in the translations of Latin 

 and Greek authors, and we may be permitted to question 

 whether the original words translated apple may not hare 

 been applied to quite different fruits, or perhaps we may 

 ask whether our word may not originally have had a more 

 general sense, meaning as it does, according to its deriva- 

 tion, any round body. 



The etymology of the word apple is referred by the 

 lexicographers to abholl, Celtic ; avail, Welch ; afaU or 

 avail, Armoric ; avid or avel, Cornish ; and these are all 

 traceable to the Celtic word ball, meaning simply a round 

 body. 



Worcester traces the origin of ajjple directly to the 

 German apfel, which he derives from cepl, apel, or appel. 



Webster cites the Saxon appl or appel; Dutch, nppel ; 

 German, apfd; Danish, mhle ; Swedish, aph ; Welsh, 

 avcd; Irish, abhal or ubhnl ; Armoric, aval; Kussian, 

 yabloko. 



Its meaning being fruit in general, with a round form. 

 Thus the Porsiati word ubhul means Juniper berries, and 

 in Welsh the word used means other fruits, and needs a 

 qualifying term to specify the variety or kind. 



