апельсин (Ukrainian)
Where does "апельсин" come from?
The Ukrainian word "апельсин" travels a fascinating linguistic path that begins with the French phrase "pomme de Sine," meaning "Chinese apple." This term was adopted into Dutch as "appelsien," which eventually traveled through Russian before entering the Ukrainian language. Ultimately, the first part of this compound links back to the ancient Proto-Indo-European word "*h₂ébōl," the root from which our modern word "apple" also descends.
Full etymology tree
- апельсин (apelʹsín) (Ukrainian), 'orange (fruit)'
- borrowed апельсин (apelʹsín) (Russian), 'orange tree'
- borrowed appelsien (Dutch), 'orange (fruit)'
- compound appel (Dutch), 'apple (Malus domestica, fruit or tree)'
- inherited appel (Middle Dutch), 'apple'
- inherited appel (Old Dutch)
- inherited *applu (Proto-West Germanic), 'fruit'
- inherited *aplaz (Proto-Germanic), 'apple, fruit'
- inherited *h₂ébōl (Proto-Indo-European), 'apple'
- inherited *aplaz (Proto-Germanic), 'apple, fruit'
- inherited *applu (Proto-West Germanic), 'fruit'
- inherited appel (Old Dutch)
- inherited appel (Middle Dutch), 'apple'
- compound Sina (Dutch), 'obsolete form of China'
- compound appel (Dutch), 'apple (Malus domestica, fruit or tree)'
- borrowed appelsien (Dutch), 'orange (fruit)'
- borrowed апельсин (apelʹsín) (Russian), 'orange tree'
Ancestors
- апельсин (Russian)
- appelsien (Dutch)
Updated July 2026
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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris