Tapuz, the word for the orange fruit, is an acronym of tapuah zahav “apple of gold,” as is done in English when we say “SAT” for Scholastic Aptitude Test, or “AIDS” for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Tapuz contrasts with similar “apples”: tapuah(-ets) for “tree-apple,” tapuah-’adamah (or tapud) for “potato” (ground apple). It is named for its color, just as in Italian, tomatoes are pomodoro, “apple of gold.”
The English word orange is from Persian naranj,* as is the Spanish naranja. Originally from northern India, brought by the Portuguese to Europe, hence in modern Greek: portokali, in Arabic: purtuqal, in modern Aramaic: pirtiqala (or tarinja).
*The English word “orange” is probably a mistake, derived from norange.
Yona Sabar is a professor of Hebrew and Aramaic in the department of Near Eastern Languages & Cultures at UCLA.
