apple

noun

1》 the rounded fruit of a tree of the rose family, with green or red skin and crisp flesh.

2》 the tree which bears apples. [Genus Malus: numerous cultivated forms.]

3》 used in names of similar unrelated fruits, e.g. custard apple.

Phrases

the apple of one's eye a person of whom one is extremely fond and proud. [orig. denoting the pupil of the eye, extended as a symbol of something cherished.]

apples and pears Brit. rhyming slang stairs.

a rotten (or bad) apple informal a corrupt person in a group, likely to have a detrimental influence on the others.

upset the apple cart spoil a plan.

Derivatives

appley adjective

Origin

OE æppel, of Gmc origin.