apple

n. [ OE. appel, eppel, AS. æppel, æpl; akin to Fries. & D. appel, OHG, aphul, aphol, G. apfel, Icel. epli, Sw. äple, Dan. æble, Gael. ubhall, W. afal, Arm. aval, Lith. obůlys, Russ. iabloko; of unknown origin. ] 1. The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree (Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from which all others have sprung. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (bot.) Any tree genus Pyrus which has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any fruit or other vegetable production resembling, or supposed to resemble, the apple; as, apple of love, or love apple (a tomato), balsam apple, egg apple, oak apple. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Anything round like an apple; as, an apple of gold. [ 1913 Webster ]

Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as, apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding. [ 1913 Webster ]

Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees. See Blight, n. --
Apple borer (Zool.), a coleopterous insect (Saperda candida or Saperda bivittata), the larva of which bores into the trunk of the apple tree and pear tree. --
Apple brandy, brandy made from apples. --
Apple butter, a sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. Bartlett. --
Apple corer, an instrument for removing the cores from apples. --
Apple fly (Zool.), any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. --
Apple midge (Zool.) a small dipterous insect (Sciara mali), the larva of which bores in apples. --
Apple of the eye, the pupil. --
Apple of discord, a subject of contention and envy, so called from the mythological golden apple, inscribed “For the fairest, ” which was thrown into an assembly of the gods by Eris, the goddess of discord. It was contended for by Juno, Minerva, and Venus, and was adjudged to the latter. --
Apple of love, or
Love apple, the tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum). --
Apple of Peru, a large coarse herb (Nicandra physaloides) bearing pale blue flowers, and a bladderlike fruit inclosing a dry berry. --
Apples of Sodom, a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of fair appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes when plucked; Dead Sea apples. The name is often given to the fruit of Solanum Sodomæum, a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato. --
Apple sauce, stewed apples. [ U. S. ] --
Apple snail or
Apple shell (Zool.), a fresh-water, operculated, spiral shell of the genus Ampullaria. --
Apple tart, a tart containing apples. --
Apple tree, a tree which naturally bears apples. See Apple, 2. --
Apple wine, cider. --
Apple worm (Zool.), the larva of a small moth (Carpocapsa pomonella) which burrows in the interior of apples. See Codling moth. --
Dead Sea Apple. (a) pl. Apples of Sodom. Also Fig. “To seek the Dead Sea apples of politics.” S. B. Griffin. (b) A kind of gallnut coming from Arabia. See Gallnut. [ 1913 Webster ]