love apple

American  

noun

1. a tropical, tender plant, Solanum aculeatissimum, of the nightshade family, having prickly leaves, clusters of large, star-shaped white flowers, and red, tomatolike fruit.

2. Archaic. the tomato.

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love apple British  

noun

1. an archaic name for tomato

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Etymology

Origin of love apple

1570–80; compare French pomme d'amour, German Liebesapfel

Example Sentences

When the mandrake acquired the definite significance as a symbol of the Great Mother and the power of life-giving, its fruit, "the love apple," became the quintessence of vitality and fertility.

From The Evolution of the Dragon by Smith, G. Elliot

I need not tell you, gentlemen, the popular name for the Tomato is love apple!

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas

And she could see Aunt Grace in the kitchen, energetically whipping cream for the apple pie for dinner—"Carol always did love apple pie with whipped cream."

From Sunny Slopes by Hueston, Ethel

From the Indian we got the tomato—let some agriculturist correct me if I err—though the oldest inhabitant can still remember when we called it a love apple and regarded it as poisonous.

From Cobb's Bill-of-Fare by Newell, Peter

They're nearly gone; but I shall always love apple blossoms.

From In Apple-Blossom Time A Fairy-Tale to Date by Burnham, Clara Louise