English
Orange
Orange comes from Old French Orenge, and goes back to Gaulish *arausi ‘temple of the head, cheek’.
- Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*arausi‘temple of the head, cheek’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEArausio
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*Aurinicareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Orenge
- Frenchc. 1600–presentOrange
- Englishearliest quotation 2015same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Gaulishc. 500 BCE–500 CE*arausi‘temple of the head, cheek’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEArausio
- Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*Aurinicareconstructed
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400Orenge
- Frenchc. 1600–presentOrange
- Englishearliest quotation 2015same form
Earliest quotation: 2015, Linda Melone, The worst foods to eat when you’re sick, and the best ones: “For diarrhea caused by a stomach virus or a…”
The story
Some senses from French Orange, from Old French Orenge (compare Occitan Aurenja), from Vulgar Latin *Aurinica, from Latin Arausio, from Gaulish *arausi (‘temple of the head, cheek’). In British and Irish contexts, usually with particular reference to William III of England (Willem Hendrik van Oranje), the Dutch Protestant husband of Queen Mary II who ended Stuart rule in Britain and Ireland. Other senses from the common noun orange, ultimately from Sanskrit नारङ्ग (nāraṅga, “orange tree”).
Linked words
through Old French Orenge
Today it means
name A city in Vaucluse department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Gaulish *arausi / Orange