Peach
/piːtʃ/noun
A soft, round fruit with sweet yellow or white flesh and fuzzy skin.
Did you know?The English word peach ultimately came through Latin and French from a term meaning “Persian apple,” because Europeans first knew the fruit as something arriving from the East.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ab(e)l-
“An ancient root meaning “apple” or “fruit” that later fed many tree-fruit words in Europe.”
Latin
Latin
malum persicum
““Persian apple,” the Roman name for the peach.”
Late Latin
Latin
persica
“A peach; literally “the Persian [fruit].””
Old French
Old French
pesche
“A peach.”
Middle English
English
peche
“A peach.”
Modern English
English
peach
“The familiar fruit name.”