The fruit itself comes from China, but its Chinese name CHÉNG ZI did not leave the homeland of the juicy fruit, and other nations began to call it in their own way. German - APFELSIENE, from Dutch APPELSIEN or from Swedish APELSIN. In all these languages, the country of origin of the product is directly indicated - China, literally is "Chinese apple".
The path of Orange to other languages was more tortuous. In the Dravidian languages of South India, this fruit was called NARANDAM. Northern Indians, who spoke Sanskrit in ancient times, changed this word to NARANGA.
While the barrels of Oranges were being transported to the west, the transformations continued. The Persians called it NARANG, and the Arabs - NARANJ. In this form, it was accepted by French importers, but then they decided that the initial N is an indefinite article, like UN in French, it turns out ORANGE!
In this form, this word entered the English language.
The Portuguese were irreconcilable competitors of the French in the fruit trade. China is some thirty-nine lands away, and oranges were brought to some regions by the Portuguese. As a sign of gratitude to them, some peoples immortalized their memory in their name of orange. Yes, it is called Portocalo in Greek, and Portocal in Bulgarian.
While the Germans, Dutch and Swedes tasted "Chinese apples", the French brought oranges to some other Slavs, explaining along the way that ORANGE is a type of apple - POMME D'ORANGE. This is how the Czech POMERANČ, the Polish POMARAŃCZA and the Ukrainian POMARANCH appeared.
In general, by studying the origin of words, you can also trace the trade routes by which enterprising merchants delivered imported products to ancient gourmets.
