The sketchy and inconsistent blog of Bethie Engstrom...

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Thought Provoking Tuesday...er Thursday Part II

A answer to the last TPT was answered by a Thursday (funny me doing this on a
thursday too huh?). Here's the answer Thursday gave to me:

"According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the English word "orange" was imported around 1300 AD from Old French, "orenge". The French got it from the Latin "pomum de orenge", which came in turn from the Italian, "arancia". When the Italians first began using it, though, it was "narancia" or "naranza", because they got it from Venetian sailors trading with the Arabs, who called it "naranj" because they learned of the fruit from the Persians who called it "narang" because that's what the Indians, who first cultivated oranges, called it in Sanskrit - "naranga", "orange tree".

(Maybe that's why nothing rhymes properly with "orange"...)

Anyway, it wasn't used to describe a color until 1542, a couple centuries after it was used in English to begin with, so the color must have been named after the fruit! :D "
Thanks so much Thursday!

3 comments:

emily said...

Thats a lot of info about one word...:] Awesome!

Lèrowen said...

I knew it was the fruit first. Yes!
I agree that is a lot of info. on one word. But then again words are just awesome.

Antonia said...

I awarded you! Again with the Stylish blogger award. You don't have to post it again, but I love your Trail of Thoughts blog! :)