# Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu: apple



## Qureshpor

Friends, what word would you use for "apple" in your language/s? If you are suggesting one word, what other word or words would you use for "apple".

Thank you in advance for your participation.


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## Alfaaz

Urdu:

سیب - _seb_
تفّاح - _tuffaaH_


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## littlepond

Hindi: seb, appil


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## Shounak

In Bengali আপেল (apel)


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## littlepond

littlepond said:


> Hindi: seb, appil



I meant "aeppil" ("ae" as in "aetbaar") ... sorry for the earlier transliteration.


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## desi4life

littlepond said:


> I meant "aeppil" ("ae" as in "aetbaar") ... sorry for the earlier transliteration.



By "aeppil" do you mean ऐप्पिल?


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## littlepond

^ Yes.


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## Qureshpor

Thank you everyone for your replies. I am hoping that some kind soul will provide a Punjabi equivalent in the near future and then I shall get back.


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## Pvitr

My background is (East) Panjabi. In books one would see 'seb'. However in spoken Panjabi I have only ever heard 'si-au' (not sure how to transliterate! Short 'i' followed by an 'au' sound)


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## Qureshpor

^ Excellent! This is what I too am familiar with even though "seb" has practically killed the poor "siau"/"siauu" off! Now, a question for our Hindi speakers. Have you come across anything remotely resembling this Punjabi word that is Indic in origins?


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## Pvitr

Do you know if siau is from a particular region of Punjab? Is seb more of a Farsi word?


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## Qureshpor

Yes, "seb" has its origins in Farsi. "siau" is the Punjabi equivalent for apple.


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## Alfaaz

Platts lists the following:


> P سيو सेव _sew_, vulg. _seʼo_ (=S. सेवि) , s.m. An apple (=_seb_).





> H سيو सेव _sew_, _seʼo_ [cf. S. सेविका], s.f. A kind of sweetmeat; dessert.


 It seems the origin for the first one might be Indic instead of Persian or both Indic and Persian, since Hayyim doesn't list سيو (Steingass does, though)..?


			
				Qureshpor said:
			
		

> This is what I too am familiar with even though "seb" has practically killed the poor "siau"/"siauu" off! Now, a question for our Hindi speakers. Have you come across anything remotely resembling this Punjabi word that is Indic in origins?





			
				Pvitr said:
			
		

> Do you know if siau is from a particular region of Punjab? Is seb more of a Farsi word?





			
				Qureshpor said:
			
		

> Yes, "seb" has its origins in Farsi. "siau" is the Punjabi equivalent for apple.


 This pronunciation difference seems similar to سرو - _sarw_ in Urdu changing (sometimes or often?) to _saruu_ in Punjabi...!?


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## desi4life

Alfaaz said:


> Platts lists the following: It seems the origin for the first one might be Indic instead of Persian or both Indic and Persian, since Hayyim doesn't list سيو (Steingass does, though)..?



The use of "i" in the Punjabi term (or semivowel "y" in Nepali) instead of "e" is an example of vowel shortening. The "v" (which led to o, u, au, ū forms) is presumably due to Sanskrit influence, but the word is of Iranian origin per Turner:

13596 sēvi -- , sēva -- , sēvita -- n. ʻ fruit of Zizyphus jujuba, apple ʼ lex. [← Ir., cf. Pahl. sēb or sēp(?), Māzandarānī sē (Pers. sēb ʻ apple ʼ → P. H. seb m., Or. seba, G. seb, sep n.): poss. associated by pop. etym. with sēvita- ʻ cultivated ʼ, cf. sēvayati ʻ tends (plants) ʼ Bhartr̥.]
P. se f. ʻ apple ʼ, (Salt Range) ʻ fruit of Prosopis spicigera ʼ; N. seu, syau ʻ apple ʼ, Or. seu, seo; M. śev (obl. śevī) f. ʻ name of a fruit tree ʼ, n. ʻ its fruit ʼ; -- P. seū ber m. ʻ a grafted Z. jujuba ʼ, seuṇ f.


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## Qureshpor

Thank you friends for all the replies.

From the responses so far, it appears that following equivalents are used for "apple" in the languages listed in the thread title.

Panjabi: siau/seb

Hindi: seb/aeppil

Urdu: seb/tuffaaH

I am really surprised to hear that "siau" is also linked to "seb" and therefore still of Iranian languages pedigree but not Indic! The reason for starting this thread was that I was hoping that there would be some Sanskrit word for "apple" which would be similar to "seiu" and would be used by or familiar to Hindi speakers. That theory has gone completely down the train, it seems!

Two questions arise:

1) To Hindi speakers. Have you ever come across in Hindi anything remotely resembling "siau". I just can't see why only Punjabi has this form.

2) To Alfaaz SaaHib. Do Urdu speakers really use "tuffaaH" in their speech or writing?


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## marrish

Apparently, as cursorily observed by desi4life after Turner, it's also there in Nepali, and even in a remote eastern Himalayan Yakkha language (I found it exactly as 'siau', not 'syau' in a grammar book online). That being said, I know these are not the target languages here but it indicates a wide geographic range, suggesting there might be perhaps some Hindi speakers that use this or some related form.


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## Alfaaz

desi4life: Thanks for the information and references! 


			
				Qureshpor said:
			
		

> 2) To Alfaaz SaaHib. Do Urdu speakers really use "tuffaaH" in their speech or writing?


 It obviously isn't common, but does seem to be present in _homeopathic, scientific, medical, and religious contexts_. 

Based on the way you had worded your question in the opening post, it seemed like you were interested in words other than _seb _and _apple_. This was the reason for including تفّاح as well.


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## Qureshpor

Alfaaz said:


> Based on the way you had worded your question in the opening post, it seemed like you were interested in words other than _seb _and _apple_. This was the reason for including تفّاح as well.


Thank you. I did think the way I phrased my question might have had something to do with your response.


Edit: Just an after thought concerning the word "siau".

In the Punjab, a "berii" is a tree that has "ber" as its fruit. There are two kinds "beriis". One that bears roundish "ber" (pardon the pun!) called "kaaThaa ber" whilst the other "berii" has siau "bers". These are much larger and somewhat apple shaped.


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