a plate of apples on a table.

The term "apple" to refer to the fruit we know today has a fascinating etymology. The word "apple" has roots in Old English, where it was called "æppel." This term was used broadly for all fruits, not just the apple we know today. The specific fruit we call an "apple" today was more commonly known as "ēse," "æpl," or "pomme" in various languages. It wasn't until later that the word "apple" became more specifically associated with this fruit. One theory for how the fruit came to be known as an "apple" is that it evolved from the Old English word "aeppel," which was used to refer to any kind of fruit. As the apple became more prominent in certain regions and cultures, the term became more specifically associated with it. Another theory suggests that the association of the term "apple" with the fruit we know today may have been influenced by the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. In this story, the forbidden fruit is often depicted as an apple, although the Bible does not explicitly mention the type of frui