The apple of someone’s eye. The person who someone loves most and is very proud of.
From: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
Wie seinen Augapfel hüten. ⟨jmd. Hütet etw., jmdn. Wie seinen Augapfel⟩ meist bezogen auf etwas besonders Kostbares, Wertvolles mit großer Sorgfalt, Achtsamkeit behandeln, behüten, bewachen, um Schaden oder v erlust zu verhindern.
Aus: https://www.dwds.de/
Before the apple season is over, I would like to dedicate one more post to apple. This post is about the romantic idiom that inspired by apple – the apple of my eye. It means the very precious someone to one.
There is a similar idiom in German – to protect someone like the apple of his/ her eye. To treat, to guard, or to watch over something/ someone especially precious and valuable with great care and attention in order to prevent damage or loss.
Why “apple” but not for example “cherry”? The German word “der Augapfel” if translated word for word is “eye’s apple”. Its real meaning is pupil, the circular black area in the centre of an eye. I did some research online, it said at that time, the pupil of the eye was called an apple – probably because apples were the best known spherical objects at that time.
So this idiom has little to do with apples but eye. According to my reference source (link below), the earliest usage of this idiom was in an English old text around 9th century and in an early translation of English Bible around 17th century. It is found in Psalm 17:8: “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” and in Deuteronomy 32:10: “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye”.
To acknowledge the Bible – God’s word is the foundation of this idiom makes me smile, because He is trustworthy. His promise of love surpasses all the love stories and love songs written by human with fickle emotion. God is love, the one who demonstrates everlasting, unconditional and unchanging love.
Thanks to my daily walk through the apple gardens that brought this idiom into my attention. It is a treasure to found out the true meaning behind this lovely idiom- you are the apple of my eye. And how solid is this promise can be.
Music of the day might not directly related to the post, but the title “to watch over” could match a bit with the meaning of “the apple of my eye”. And it is sung by the wonderful Ella Fitzgerald.
Reference source in German:
https://www.geo.de/geolino/redewendungen/7206-rtkl-englische-redewendung-apple-my-eye
PS Do you want to buy me a cup coffee? 😉
https://ko-fi.com/thejourneywriter