Why are oranges called oranges? Did the fruit come first or the color?

Arabia Weather - If you are wondering which came first, the orange fruit or the color orange, the simple answer is that the fruit came first. However, in fact, its name was not "orange" from the beginning. The Arabs knew this fruit by several names before they called it "orange." It has been given various names, such as "Maringa", which is the name used by the Indians to refer to this fruit that comes from India, and its letters were sometimes changed by the Arabs to become "Larang", "Narang", or "Turang".

Where did the word "orange" come from?

To understand why this is, we have to go back in time to the sixteenth century. In that era, only a variety similar to today's oranges known as "maringa" reached us. It was vulnerable to damage during ancient trade and exchange operations. But with the development of cohesion and increased maritime communication, the Portuguese, who were the rulers of the seas at that time, began to import maringa by sea.

When they sold this fruit in Arab regions such as Andalusia and Morocco, the Arabs began to know it as the fruit of Portugal or oranges. They used this writing to name the country of Portugal, and Portugal was known on Arabic navigation maps as “the Land of Oranges.” This was often due to the letter ghān being replaced with a qāf, such as converting “google” to “google” or “google” today.

What does the word "Portugal" mean?

The word "Portugal" comes from two terms: "Porto" which means "port", and "Gal" which refers to Gaul. Gaul was located on the northern border of France in the Middle Ages. Thus, "Portugal" denotes a port on the borders of Gaul, and this is the historical origin of the country's name.

What do the Portuguese call oranges?

The Portuguese still call the orange fruit "Larenga", and in Spain it is called "Marenja", while the English changed it to "Orange", and the French may call it "Orange".

What did we call the color orange in the past?

At the beginning of the 17th century, the word "orange" began to be used to refer to the color, and not just to the fruit. In English, it is called “orange,” while in Arabic it is called “orange.” This is according to information from the book “Color Symbols and Their Hidden Meanings.” Before the discovery of the orange fruit, the color was called "reddish-yellow" or "yellowish-red" in Arabic.

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