Apricot

The apricot is graced with many names: apricot, abricot, and apricock. The exact etymology is unknown. One suggestion is that the origin stems from the writings of Pliny the Elder (AD 23-AD 79). Pliny wrote: ‘The Asiatic peach ripens at the end of autumn, though an early variety (praecocid) ripens in summer–these were discovered within the last thirty years....” A second suggestion is that it is derived from the Catalan abercoc, which was an adaptation of the Arabic al-birquq, itself a derivative of the Byzantine Greek berikokkia. Finally, to complete the long journey of this word back to its roots, berikokkia came from the Latin (malum) proecoguum, meaning “early ripening fruit.” Prunumor Malum arme-niacum are the older Latin names that are meant to reference the apricot’s origin, Armenia. It has not been proven that the apricot is indigenous to Armenia, but the apricot is still known in many parts of the world as the Armenian apple.