# orange (fruit / colour)



## Obeorn

In my limited research, I’ve come across many languages that use the same (or very similar) word for orange-the-fruit as orange-the-color. Some of the languages are definitely related by source, but others are from different sources. This is a very interesting trend. I’m curious how widely spread this is. Did all these languages not have a word for the color before the fruit came around? English used an early form of yellow-red, but no one else had a word for the color?

This link would make for an interesting exploration of word sharing and migration, but that’s for someone else to write a paper on.

What are the word parings for your language? What languages are they not the same/similar?


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## arielipi

In hebrew the fruit is called תפוז tapuz, which is acronym for תפוח זהב tap'akh zahav - gold(en) apple.
Orange as color is כתום katom.


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## ahmedcowon

In Arabic, they look the same:

the fruit is برتقال burtuqal
the color is برتقالي burtuqali


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## ThomasK

In Dutch it is not at all: 
- _oranje _is the colour, referring back to the Indian word naranja, so I believe
- _sinaasappel (appelsien)_ is the fruit, referring to China, where we imported the present oranges from because they were sweeter


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## apmoy70

Hi Obeorn,

Ancient Greeks named the colour after saffron because the fruit was unknown to them:
*«Κροκόεν» krŏkóĕn* (neut.) & *«κρόκινον» krókīnŏn* (neut.) --> _saffron coloured_ -in Gr. the plant _Crocus sativus_ (saffron) is *«Κρόκος» krókŏs* (masc.) < Possibly a name of semitic origin although the plant is indigenous to the Aegean islands and the name of its flower (and colour) appears in the Mycenaean syllabary (Linear B) as _*ko-ro-ku-ra-i-io_ --> *«κροκύλαιον» krŏkúlæŏn* (neut.).
In Modern Greek the colour is *«πορτοκαλί»* [portoka'li] (neut.) after the fruit: *«πορτοκάλι»* [porto'kali] (neut.) < It. portogallo (arancio di Portogallo)


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## Maroseika

In Russian we use German word for the *fruit (апельсин* < German Apfelsine < calque of French pomme de Sine), and French word for the *colour (оранжевый *< French orange << Sanskrit nāranǰ).

However апельсиновый цвет (Apfelsine colour) is also used, although much rarer.
Proper Russian name for this colour was descriptive: red-yellow or hot (красно-желтый, жаркий).


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## Gavril

Finnish *appelsiini *(fruit), *oranssi *(color)

Icelandic *appelsína *(fruit), *appelsínugulur *(color, literally, "orange-yellow"); an alternative Icelandic term for the fruit is *glóaldin *< _gló _"glow-"_ + aldin _"fruit", and an alternative term for the color is *rauðgulur* "red-yellow"

Tagalog *dalandan *(fruit), *kahel *(color); _kahel _can also be used for the fruit, but I think the color meaning of that word is more basic


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## francisgranada

Hungarian:

*narancs *(the fruit)
*narancssárga *(the colour), literally _orange-yellow
_
Composites of this kind are possible using practically whatever fruit or objects, e.g. _citromsárga _(lemon-yellow), _szilvakék _(plum-blue), _vérpiros _(blood-read) ... So I can easily imagine that before the orange was known, some other fruit/flower/object had been used instead.


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## Lurrezko

We use the same word for the fruit and the color in Spanish (*naranja*), Catalan (*taronja*) and Basque (*laranja*).

Un saludo


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## bibax

Czech:

fruit: *pomeranč, pomoranč, pomaranč* (< pomme orange);
colour: *oranžový* (< orange);


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## Codinome Shlomo

In Portuguese it is _laranja _for both. I guess it is because the colour used to be called "_cor-de-laranja_" ("colour of an orange"), and then people started calling it just "_laranja_".
The colour is also called "_abóbora/cor-de-abóbora_" ("pumpkin").


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## Lurrezko

Codinome Shlomo said:


> The colour is also called "_abóbora/cor-de-abóbora_" ("pumpkin").



Same in Spanish (*calabaza*) and Catalan (*carbassa*).


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## origumi

arielipi said:


> In hebrew the fruit is called תפוז tapuz, which is acronym for תפוח זהב tap'akh zahav - gold(en) apple.
> Orange as color is כתום katom.


"tapuz" = golden apple is a modern word (invented by Avineri) and based also on such expression in Proverbs.
"katom" is a modern word, based on biblical ketem = gold, borrowed from Sumerian via Akkadian.


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## ahmedcowon

apmoy70 said:


> In Modern Greek the colour is *«πορτοκαλί»* [portoka'li] (neut.) after the fruit: *«πορτοκάλι»* [porto'kali] (neut.) < It. portogallo (arancio di Portogallo)



The same in Arabic, Turkish, Bulgarian, Romanian and Persian. So, the fruit is named after the country "Portugal"


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## ancalimon

ahmedcowon said:


> The same in Arabic, Turkish, Bulgarian, Romanian and Persian. So, the fruit is named after the country "Portugal"



Or maybe the country is named after the fruit?

Just kidding   Where does Portuguese laranja come from?


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## Treaty

ancalimon said:


> Or maybe the country is named after the fruit?
> Just kidding  Where does Portuguese laranja come from?



Almost all the orange names ending with -_ranj_- or -_rang_- came from Persian (via Arabic) which itself seems to be rooted in a language of Indian sub-continent. In New Persian, there are _naaranj _(bitter orange), _toranj _or_ toronj _(sour orange), _naarangi _(mandarin) and _baadrang _(a large thick-skinned citrus). 

The common sweet orange was not native of Near East and was imported by the Portuguese (or from Portugal), therefore, it is called something like _portugal _in many Near Eastern languages. 

The orange colour in Persian is usually called _naaranji_ or _naarenji_ (after bitter orange). However, a vivid orange colour may also be called _porteqaali._


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## ilocas2

Croatian:

orange (fruit) - *naranča*
orange (colour), adjective - *narančast*


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## DearPrudence

In *French*, same word for the fruit and colour: "*orange*".


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## mataripis

Tagalog has kahel/Dalandan/ Orench.


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## 810senior

That's also the case for Japanese: orenji(オレンジ) works for both fruit and color.
But when we refer to the color of orange, we prefer to say orenji-iro(オレンジ色) literally meaning orange-colored.


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## mundiya

In Hindi, the fruit can be called santaraa (named after Sintra in Portugal), naarangii, or naarang.  The colour is called naarangii.


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## ger4

In German:
_Apfelsine_ - the fruit
_Orange / orange_ - the fruit or the colour 
_orangefarben_ - lit. orange-coloured - the colour


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## Messquito

In Chinese:
Orange (noun, the color) ＝橘色 （色 is seldom dropped)
Orange (adjective, the color) ＝橘色的 or 橘(色)
Orange (noun, fruit) ＝橘*子*
With the help of 色(color), 子(used in many fruit/food names like 梨子、李子、棗子、柿子), we never get them mixed up, although they have the same root.


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## ilocas2

> Hungarian:
> 
> *narancs *(the fruit)
> *narancssárga *(the colour), literally _orange-yellow
> _
> Composites of this kind are possible using practically whatever fruit or objects, e.g. _citromsárga _(lemon-yellow), _szilvakék _(plum-blue), _vérpiros _(blood-read) ... So I can easily imagine that before the orange was known, some other fruit/flower/object had been used instead.



this is interesting, so orange is understood as kind of yellow in Hungarian..............


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## AmaryllisBunny

In Vietnamese, both words are "*cam*," although the distinction can be made by adding "*màu*" (color) in front, such as *màu cam* (literally: color orange).

In the French as DearPrudence said: 





DearPrudence said:


> In *French*, same word for the fruit and colour: "*orange*".



It is worth noting that the fruit is feminine and the color is masculine.


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## AutumnOwl

*Swedish:*
The fruit -_ apelsin_ (äpple från Kina - apple from China)
The colour - _orange_ or _brandgul_ (burning yellow) 

_Brandgul_ is the old Swedish word for the colour, but _orange_ is taking over as the name of the colour. _Brandgul_ is still used in the name of several wild mushrooms and flowers.


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## WestFevalia

I've seen in an old Latin dictionary that the Latin word for orange (fruit) was _malum medicum_ (medical/magical apple). For the colour, it was _inauratus_ (golden).
People probably used somethng like _golden_ before they knew what an orange is.


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## 810senior

Messquito said:


> In Chinese:
> Orange (noun, the color) ＝橘色 （色 is seldom dropped)


It reminds me of something like that we sometimes call the orange color 橙色(橙 is a species of orange tree).


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## Messquito

^We have that use, too.
橙＝orange＝柳橙＝柳丁
橘＝mandarin orange (the color is deeper than the common western orange)=tangerine
For us, orange(橙) appears more yellow than orange, so the definitions may vary.


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## apmoy70

Treaty said:


> Almost all the orange names ending with -_ranj_- or -_rang_- came from Persian (via Arabic) which itself seems to be rooted in a language of Indian sub-continent. In New Persian, there are _*naaranj* _(bitter orange)..._*naarangi* _(mandarin)...


We have these too in Greek with similar names:

*«Νεράντζι»* [neˈɾanʣ͡i] (neut.) --> _bitter orange_, and the tree *«νεραντζιά»* [neɾanʣ͡iˈa] (fem.) < Venetian naranza < Persian نارنگ (naaranj).
My grandmother used to make a spoon sweet with whole, small, green (underripe) bitter oranges called *«γλυκό νεραντζάκι»* [ɣliˈko neɾanˈʣ͡aci] (both neut.) --> _sweet little-naaranj_ that was very tasty (and indeed very sweet).
Interstingly, in Cyprus the fruit is called *«κιτρόμηλο»* [ciˈtromilo] (neut.) --> _citrus-apple_ and the tree *«κιτρομηλιά»* [citromiˈʎa] (fem.).

_Mandarin_ is *«μανταρίνι»* [mandaˈɾini] (neut. nom. sing.), *«μανταρίνια»* [mandaˈɾiɲa] (neut. nom. pl.) < It. "mandarino" (masc. sing.), "mandarini" (masc. pl.); Greek wiki says that the Italian word comes from the Portuguese "mandarim".
The tree is *«μανταρινιά»* [mandaɾiˈɲa] (fem.).


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## Stoggler

Welsh has *oren* for both the fruit and the colour, presumably a loan from English.


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## spindlemoss

Stoggler said:


> Welsh has *oren* for both the fruit and the colour, presumably a loan from English.



Yep. 15th century is the earliest record of it in Welsh, from English.

Cornish has *owraval *(*owr *"gold" + *aval *"apple") for the fruit and *rudhvelyn *(*rudh *"red" + *melyn *"yellow") for the colour.

Manx uses *noirid* for the fruit and *jiarg-bwee *(*jiarg *"red" + *bwee *"yellow") for the colour.


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## Anja.Ann

In Italian, "arancio": the colour (orange) and the orange tree; "arancia" is the fruit of the orange tree.


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## nimak

*Macedonian*

fruit: *портокал* [`pɔrtɔkaɫ] _m._
color: *портокалова* [pɔrtɔ`kaɫɔva] _adj. f.; _*оранжева* [ɔ`ranʒɛva]_ adj. f. _is rarely used


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## Zareza

In* Romanian              

portocaliu *(orange colour) - *portocală *(fruit) < (Greek) _portokálli < _(Italian) _portogalio = _from Portugal ///  < (Turkish) portakal / portokal 

Before*:*

*turungiu *< turunçu (Turkish) < turung ( Persian) = orange (fruit)

*naramziu *< narenci (Turkish) = citrus


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## francisgranada

Zareza said:


> ...    *portocaliu *(orange colour) - *portocală *(fruit) < (Greek) _portokálli < _(Italian) _portogalio = _from Portugal ///  < (Turkish) portakal / portokal ....


 Does or did in Italian exist an adjective or noun "portogal*io*"?


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## Sardokan1.0

francisgranada said:


> Does or did in Italian exist an adjective or noun "portogal*io*"?



Never heard it in my life in Italian. Perhaps I've heard something similar in Neapolitan.

The fruit in standard Italian is *"arancia"* and the colour "*arancio *or *arancione*"

While in Sardinian the fruit is masculine : "*arantzu*", and the colour also "*arantzu*"


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## Yendred

An interesting link about the origin of the word _orange_:
iranian.com: Guive Mirfendereski, Etymology Narangi and Porteghal


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## Yendred

AmaryllisBunny said:


> It is worth noting that the fruit is feminine and the color is masculine.



In French indeed, color nouns are always masculine, even if they come from a feminine noun:
_*un* orange _(color), _*une *orange _(fruit)
*un *_rose _(color), _*une* rose _(flower)
_*un *crème _(color), _*une *crème _(milk product)
*un *_ocre_ (color), *une *_ocre _(natural mixture of clay and sand)
etc.

Some are both masculine:
*un *_marron _(color), _*un *marron_ (fruit)
*un *_abricot _(color), _*un *abricot _(fruit)
*un *_chocolat _(color), *un *_chocolat_ (sweet food made from cocoa beans)
etc.

What is worth noting in my opinion is that although all color nouns are masculine, the word _couleur _itself is feminine


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## clamor

*In Armenian*:
*orange (fruit) is *նարինջ* (narinj)
*orange (color) is either *նարնջագույն* (_narnjaguyn_, orange-color)  or colloquially *գազարագույն *(_gazaraguyn_, carrot-color)


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## Vukabular

In Serbian:
Narandža - orange (fruit)
Narandžasta - orange (color)
Nar - pomegranate (fruit), it has orange flowers that looks like fire
Nar - fire (Persian, Arabic, Maltese...)
In serbian all of words below are related to fire or heat: žar, jar, var, gar, zar.

dž = g


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## ThomasK

ger4 said:


> In German:
> _Apfelsine_ - the fruit
> _Orange / orange_ - the fruit or the colour
> _orangefarben_ - lit. orange-coloured - the colour


 Apfelsine - aber Orangensaft, nicht? I suspect though that you do not say "ich esse zwei _Orangen_"...


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## apmoy70

Vukabular said:


> In Serbian:
> ...
> 
> *dž = g*


Isn't dž = /ʤ/?


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## nimak

apmoy70 said:


> Isn't dž = /ʤ/?


Yes, it is. I think what @Vukabular meant was that the Serbian _dž_ in _narandža_ sounds same as the English _g_ in _orange_.


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