Ap"ple (ăp"p'l), 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.
☞ The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from
which all others have sprung.
2. (bot.) Any tree genus Pyrus which
has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree.
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.
4. Anything round like an apple; as, an
apple of gold.
Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as,
apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple
blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding.
Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees.
See Blight, n. -- Apple
borer (Zoöl.), a coleopterous insect (Saperda
candida or 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 (Zoöl.),
any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies
belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. --
Apple midge (Zoöl.) 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 (Zoöl.), 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 (Zoöl.), 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.