Seville orange

English

Etymology

From Seville +‎ orange.

Noun

Seville orange (plural Seville oranges)

1. The bitter orange: a tree and fruit of the species Citrus aurantium.
   • 1599, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, Act 2 Scene 1

     DON PEDRO. Why, how now, count! wherefore are you sad?

     CLAUDIO. Not sad, my lord.

     DON PEDRO. How then? Sick?

     CLAUDIO. Neither, my lord.

     BEATRICE. The count is neither sad, nor sick, nor merry, nor well; but civil count, civil as an orange, and something of that jealous complexion.

   • 1824, Byron, Don Juan, Canto 1

     In Seville was he born, a pleasant city,

     Famous for oranges and women—he

     Who has not seen it will be much to pity,

     So says the proverb—and I quite agree;

   • 1847, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Castles in Spain

     The softer Andalusian skies

     Dispelled the sadness and the gloom;

     There Cadiz by the seaside lies,

     And Seville's orange-orchards rise,

     Making the land a paradise

     Of beauty and of bloom.

Synonyms

• (bitter orange): bigarade

Translations

Seville orange — see bitter orange

Further reading

• Bitter orange on Wikipedia.Wikipedia