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mad apple

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mad apple

Where it comes from

Calque of Renaissance Latin malum insanum, itself calqued from Italian melanzana, reanalyzed as if mela insana, perhaps under the influence of beliefs that it could cause various diseases. See further etymology at melongene.

noun mad apples · mad-apple

  1. archaic Eggplant.
  2. Thorn apple.
  3. Dead Sea apple.

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MLA

"mad apple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mad%20apple. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mad apple. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mad%20apple

Chicago

"mad apple." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mad%20apple.

BibTeX
@misc{mad_apple_2026,
  title = {mad apple},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mad%20apple},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}