an apple a day keeps the doctor away en · X
Pronunciation
- (General-American) audio
- /əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkips ðə ˈdɑktɚ əˈweɪ/ (General-American)
- /əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkiːps ðə ˈdɒktəɹ‿əˈweɪ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
Of British origin; a similar proverb was recorded from Pembrokeshire, Wales, in 1866: “Eat an apple on going to bed, / And you’ll keep the doctor from earning his bread.” However, the idea that apples can cure disease is much older. In the play The Soddered Citizen (first performed c. 1631–1633) by the English author John Clavell (1601–1643), it is suggested that if a person who had heartburn had taken an apple and gone to bed, he would have been cured.
Meanings
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Apples are healthy and stave off illnesses.
Of course I eat an apple every evening—an apple a day keeps the doctor away—but still, you ought to have more prunes, and not all these fancy doodads.
1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter I, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, section IV, page 11:An old saying in Western countries goes, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", so now there is a new saying in China, "A sea cucumber a day keeps the doctor away".
2004, Jiaxin Chen, “Present Status and Prospects of Sea Cucumber Industry in China”, in Alessandro Lovatelli, Chantal Conand, et al., editors, Advances in Sea Cucumber Aquaculture and Management (FAO Fisheries Technical Paper; 463), Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization, →ISBN, session I (Status of Resources and Utilization), page 35:an apple a day keeps the doctor away—an apple is nutritious and you will stay healthy if you eat one every day. My mother always told us that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so we would eat apples to stay healthy.
2000 January, “Phrases from the Garden”, in Melvia A. Hasman, editor, English Teaching Forum: A Journal for the Teacher outside the United States, volume 38, number 1, Washington, D.C.: United States Information Agency, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 51, column 1:The saying "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" is often countered with the one "an onion a day keeps everybody away". Whether these were even proven true or not I do not know but I do know that both apples and onions were among the staples kept in our home.
1984, Louise E. Efnor, “Kill or Cure”, in Jerrilee Cain-Tyson, John E. Hallwas, Victor Hicken, editors, Tales from Two Rivers III (A Corncrib Publication), Macomb, Ill.: Two Rivers Arts Council, College of Fine Arts Development, Western Illinois University, →OCLC, part IV (Receipts by Folks), page 118, column 1:Now, an apple is one of the most wonderful of fruits, and the most wholesome. The old adage went, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," and my young son, three years ago, when he was only three years old, came to me with an amendment to that and said: "Father, two apples a day keeps the dentist away," because there is not a better toothbrush than the apple, and he got the idea that two apples a day would keep the dentist away.
1919 August 26, Harvey W[ashington] Wiley (witness), “Statement of Dr. Harvey W. Wiley—Resumed”, in Cold-storage Legislation: Hearings before the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, Sixty-sixth Congress, First Session on Cold-storage Legislation […], Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 861:The apple has been as formidable in history as it has been in recipe books. […] It has inspired legend (Johnny Appleseed), nicknames (New York, "the big apple") and any number of old saws ("An apple a day keeps the doctor away").
1973 October 18, Thomas Grubisich, “When you deal with millions of apples a day”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC; quoted in “Statement of Bert E. Perry, Monitor Advocate, Virginia Employment Commission”, in Oversight Hearing on Department of Labor: Certification of the Use of Offshore Labor: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Agricultural Labor of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, First Session […], Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 20 March 1975, →OCLC, page 82:
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Healthy eating prevents illness.
The old adage, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away," might quite as well have read "a carrot or an onion a day," and probably the result would be about the same as regards reducing the doctor's bill. Vegetables of all kinds are necessary in the diet, but particularly valuable are those available in the spring and summer, say specialists of the United States Department of Agriculture.
1921 June 3, “Vegetables are cheap for food”, in Frank F. Prescott, editor, Weymouth Gazette and Transcript, volume LV, number 22 (number 2882 overall), Weymouth, Mass.: Gazette and Transcript Publishing Company, →OCLC, 2nd section, page 11, column 3:Many people believe that the concept of an "apple a day keeps the doctor away" is just a played out, overused saying that adults made up to get their children to eat healthier.
2010 August 5, Michael C. Allen, chapter 2, in An Apple a Day: Getting Back to Basics Achieves Total Health and Wellness, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 5:He advocated the increased use of fruit, for he believed in the old saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
1887 November 26, “The Pomological Show”, in The Wrexham Advertiser, and North Wales News, volume XL, Wrexham, Clwyd: Selina Bayley, Charles George Bayley, and George Bradley, →OCLC, page 5, column 6:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (31)
he קח פרי ותהיה לי בריא (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · fi omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · he תפוח ביום ולרופא תגיד שלום (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · is epli á dag kemur heilsunni í lag (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · yue 医生远离我 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · cmn 每日一蘋果，醫生遠離我 /每日一苹果 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · hu minden nap egy alma az orvost távol tartja (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · cmn 医生远离我 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · ms makan sebiji epal sehari, tak perlu berjumpa dengan doktor lagi (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · fi omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (healthy habits stave off problems) · fr chaque jour une pomme conserve son homme (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · cmn 医生远离我 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · el ένα μήλο την ημέρα, τον γιατρό τον κάνει πέρα (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · fr une pomme chaque matin éloigne le médecin (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · sv ett äpple om dagen håller doktorn borta (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · ms ماکن سبيجي ايڤل سهاري, تق ڤرلو برجومڤا دڠن دوکتور لاݢي (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · yue 一日一蘋果，醫生遠離我 /一日一苹果 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · eo pomo ĉiun tagon forturnas malsanon (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · fi omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (healthy eating prevents illness) · ar تُفَّاحَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فِي الْيَوْمِ تُغْنِيكَ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الطَّبِيبِ (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · he תפוח ביום מרחיק את הרופא האיום (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · it una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · tr güneş giren eve doktor girmez (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · pt uma maçã por dia traz saúde e alegria (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · es una manzana al día mantiene al médico en la lejanía (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · da et æble om dagen holder doktoren borte (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · it una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · de ein Apfel pro Tag hält den Doktor fern (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · sl eno jabolko na dan, odžene zdravnika stran (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · cmn 一日一蘋果，醫生遠離我 /一日一苹果 (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses) · ja 一日一個のりんごで医者しらず (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses)