What came first, orange or oranges?

Dear Cecil: Was the orange named orange because of orange, or was orange named orange because of oranges? You want me to repeat the question? Pete B., Washington, D.C.

Cecil replies:

Spare me. The noun preceded the adjective, deriving ultimately from the Sanskrit naranga, “orange tree.” It’s thought the initial n may have been dropped in French and Italian due to assimilation into the indefinite article — i.e., une narange became une arange, and una narancia became una arancia. The first English use of the word “orange” as a color adjective appears to have been in 1620.

Cecil Adams

Send questions to Cecil via cecil@straightdope.com.