orange (French)

Where does "orange" come from?

The French word orange evolved from the Old French orenge, which originated as a shortened version of the phrase 'pomme d'orenge.' This term was modeled after the Old Italian 'melarancia,' combining the words for apple and orange. Over time, its spelling was influenced by the name of the French city Orange as it transitioned from Middle French into the modern language.

Full etymology tree

• orange (French), 'orange (orange-coloured)'
  • inherited orange (Middle French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
    • inherited orenge (Old French), 'orange (fruit of the orange tree)'
      • clipping pomme d'orenge (Old French), 'orange (fruit)'
        • calque melarancia (Italian), 'sweet orange, Citrus sinensis (fruit)'
          • compound mela (Italian), 'apple (fruit)'
            • inherited mēla (Late Latin)
              • derived mēlum (Latin), 'apple'
                • inherited mālum (Latin), 'inflection of malus:'
                  • borrowed μᾶλον (Ancient Greek), 'Doric and Aeolic form of μῆλον (mêlon, “apple”)'
          • compound arancia (Italian), 'orange (fruit)'
            • derived arancio (Italian), 'orange (color/colour)'
              • borrowed نَارَنْج (Arabic), 'bitter orange (Citrus aurantium)'
                • borrowed نارنگ (Persian), 'bitter orange'
                  • borrowed नारङ्ग (Sanskrit), 'the orange tree'
      • derived Orenge (Old Occitan)

Ancestors

• orange (Middle French)
• orenge (Old French)

Descendants and derived words

• agent orange (French)
• feu orange (French)
• hoplostèthe orange (French)
• orange sanguine (French)

Updated May 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris