Etymograph

English

fruit

Fruit comes from Middle English fruyt ‘fruits and vegetables’, from Latin fruor ‘to enjoy’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewHg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewHg-‘to make use of’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰruHgyétireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frūgjōrreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*frūjōr‘to engage in’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfruor‘to enjoy’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrūctus
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fruit‘produce’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fruyt‘fruits and vegetables’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592fruit

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewHg-‘to make use of’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰruHgyétireconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*frūgjōrreconstructed
  4. Proto-Italic, derivedc. 1500–700 BCE*frūjōr‘to engage in’reconstructed
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfruor‘to enjoy’
  6. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrūctus
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fruit‘produce’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fruyt‘fruits and vegetables’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1591–1592fruit

Earliest quotation: c. 1591–1592, William Shakespeare, The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]: “King Edward's fruit, true heir to the English crown”.

The story

Partially displaced native Old English wæstm, ofett and æppel (whence modern ovest and apple). In the derogatory senses of “crazy person” and “homosexual or effeminate man”, possibly a shortening of fruitcake, or of independent origin, compare Fruit (slang).

Linked words

through Latin frūctus

fructose, 9 more

Today it means

noun A product of fertilization in a plant, specifically

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewHg- / fruit

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