Wednesday, September 13, 2006
I’ve got a little glossary about apple-related terms in the Washington Post today.
This would be a much earlier use of “Apple of the eye” than the one you quoted:
“Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of thy wings.” Psalm 17:8
Posted by Bonnie Priebe on 09/14 at 04:16 PM
Not in English it isn’t. The earliest citation from 885 is the first appearance of the expression in anything like English. Also, the 885 and 1535 quotes predate the King James Bible (the one most commonly used) which was first published in 1611, though, of course, earlier versions of the expression exist in other languages.
Posted by Grant Barrett on 09/14 at 04:38 PM
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