APRICOT, s. Prunus Armeniaca, L. This English word is of curious origin, as Dozy expounds it. The Romans called it Malum Armeniacum, and also (Persicum?) praecox, or 'early.' Of this the Greeks made πραικόκκιον, &c., and the Arab conquerors of Byzantine provinces took this up as birḳōḳ and barḳōḳ, with the article al-barḳōḳ, whence Sp. albarcoque, Port. albricoque, alboquorque, Ital. albercocca, albicocca, Prov. aubricot, ambricot, Fr. abricot, Dutch abricock, abrikoos, Eng. apricock, apricot. Dozy mentions that Dodonaeus, an old Dutch writer on plants, gives the vernacular name as Vroege Persen, 'Early Peaches,' which illustrates the origin. In the Cyprus bazars, apricots are sold as χρυσόμηλα; but the less poetical name of 'kill-johns' is given by sailors to the small hard kinds common to St. Helena, the Cape, China, &c. Zard ālū [[aloo]] (Pers.) 'yellow-plum' is the common name in India.
1615.—"I received a letter from Jorge Durois ... with a baskit of aprecockes for my selfe...."—Cocks's Diary, i. 7.
1711.—"Apricocks—the Persians call Kill Franks, because Europeans not knowing the Danger are often hurt by them."—Lockyer, p. 231.
1738.—"The common apricot ... is ... known in the Frank language (in Barbary) by the name of Matza Franca, or the Killer of Christians."—Shaw's Travels, ed. 1757, p. 144.
ARAB, s. This, it may be said, in Anglo-Indian always means 'an Arab horse.'
1298.—"Car il va du port d'Aden en Inde moult grant quantité de bons destriers arrabins et chevaus et grans roncins de ij selles."—Marco Polo, Bk. iii. ch. 36. [See Sir H. Yule's note, 1st ed., vol. ii. 375.]
1338.—"Alexandre descent du destrier Arrabis."—Rommant d'Alexandre (Bodl. MS.).
c. 1590.—"There are fine horses bred in every part of the country; but those of Cachh excell, being equal to Arabs."—Āīn, i. 133.
1825.—"Arabs are excessively scarce and dear; and one which was sent for me to look at, at a price of 800 rupees, was a skittish, cat-legged thing."—Heber, i. 189 (ed. 1844).
c. 1844.—A local magistrate at Simla had returned from an unsuccessful investigation. An acquaintance hailed him next day: 'So I hear you came back re infectâ?' 'No such thing,' was the reply; 'I came back on my grey Arab!'