Orange (fruit)

Orange refers to a citrus tree (Citrus sinensis) and the fruits of this tree. It is a hybrid of ancient cultivated origin, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and tangerine (Citrus reticulata). It is a small tree, growing to about 10 m tall, with thorny shoots and evergreen leaves 4-10 cm long. The fruit originated in southeast Asia, in either India, Vietnam or southern China. The fruit from the species Citrus aurantium are also called oranges, varieties of C. aurantium are more bitter than C. sinensis.

Etymology

Orange derives from Sanskrit {{unicode|nāraṅgaḥ}} "orange tree", with borrowings through Persian nārang, Arabic nāranj, Spanish naranja, Late Latin arangia, Italian arancia or arancio, and Old French orenge, in chronological order. The first appearance in English dates from the 14th century. The name of the colour is derived from the fruit, first appearing in this sense in the 16th century.

Related Topics:
Sanskrit - Persian - Arabic - Spanish - Late Latin - Italian - Old French - 14th century - 16th century

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