> Well yeah that is more than likely the reason, but why have something so
> simple be the reason for anything? So lets all get together and write a story
> ov the beginning origins ov the orange....why is it round? umm why is it
> called an orange and why is it orange in color? would it be called an orange
> if it were red?
Actually, the name was used for the fruit first, then the color. In Old
French the fruit was called "un norange", which became corrupted to "un
orange"*, and the word was borrowed into English presumably along with the
fruit, the color meaning being added later. I don't know what the common
color term was for the color previously. I know the heraldic term for
orange is "tenne'", also a word of French origin. It's possible that
"gold" and/or "red" had broader territories in general usage. If the word
"red" used to cover what we now call "orange", that would explain "red"
hair. I also note that some African languages group the yellow-orange-red
range as one color; In Jamaica, which is English-speaking but uses some
terms and syntax of West African origin, egg yolks are referred to as
being "red".
*Other words that have gone through similar processes:
"a newt" used to be "an ewt" (related to "eft")
"an apron" used to be "a napron" (related to "napkin" and "napery")
--Eva,
your resident philologist
"Ontology recapitulates philology"