where did the phrase apple of my eye come from
English idiom
title: Apple of my eye text: Apple of my eye The phrase apple of my eye refers to something or someone that one cherishes above all others. The Bible references below (from the King James Version, translated in 1611) contain the English idiom "apple of my eye." However the "apple" reference comes from English idiom, not biblical Hebrew. The Hebrew literally says, "dark part of the eye." The Hebrew idiom also refers to the pupil, and has the same meaning, but does not parallel the English use of "apple." The earliest appearance of the term is found in King Alfred's writing in the ninth century AD. title: Apple of my eye text: disputed. It may mean "apple"; and if so, the phrase used in Zechariah 2:8 literally refers to the "apple of the eye." However, Hebrew scholars generally regard this phrase as simply referring to the "eyeball" (E.g., "The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament" Apple of my eye The phrase apple of my eye refers to something or someone that one cherishes above all others. The Bible references below (from the King James Version, translated in 1611) contain the English idiom "apple of my eye." However the "apple" reference comes from English idiom, not biblical Hebrew. The Hebrew literally title: Apple of My Eye (song) text: Apple of My Eye (song) "Apple of My Eye" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1973 album, "Ass." The song was written and sung by Pete Ham, produced by Chris Thomas and Badfinger, and released on Apple Records. Ham wrote the song about his mixed feelings upon the band's leaving Apple Records (which was the "apple of my eye" to Ham) to pursue a larger contract by moving to Warner Bros. Records. The same concern is reflected on the "Ass" album cover, which shows a donkey following a carrot into the distance. Coincidentally, title: Apple of my eye text: a diminutive form of pupus, boy, or pupa, girl (the source also for our other sense of pupil to mean a schoolchild.) It was applied to the dark central portion of the eye within the iris because of the tiny image of oneself, like a puppet or marionette, that one can see when looking into another person's eye. In the Old Babylonian period (c. 1800-1600 BC) in ancient Mesopotamia, the expression "protective spirit of the eye" is attested, perhaps describing the same phenomenon. In Zechariah 2:8, the Hebrew phrase used is bava 'ayin (בבה עין). The meaning of bava is title: Apple of my eye text: The original Hebrew for this idiom, in all but Zechariah 2:8, was 'iyshown 'ayin (אישון עין). The expression refers to the pupil, and probably simply means "dark part of the eye" (other biblical passages use 'iyshown with the meaning "dark" or "obscure", and having nothing whatsoever to do with the eye). There is, however, a popular notion that 'iyshown is a diminutive of "man" ('iysh), so that the expression would literally mean "Little Man of the Eye." If the latter interpretation is adopted it would be very much like the Latin version, pupilla, which means a little doll, and is