"an apple a day keeps the doctor away" meaning in English

See an apple a day keeps the doctor away in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Proverb

IPA: /əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkiːps ðə ˈdɒktəɹ‿əˈweɪ/ [Received-Pronunciation], /əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkips ðə ˈdɑktɚ əˈweɪ/ [General-American] Audio: En-us-an apple a day keeps the doctor away.oga [General-American]
Rhymes: -eɪ 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. Etymology templates: {{nb...|at 5 New-street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride, in the County of Middlesex; and published by}} […], {{nb...|of 32 Wellington Street, Strand, in the said county.}} […], {{circa2|1631–1633|short=1}} c. 1631–1633, {{circa2|1631–1633|short=1}} c. 1631–1633, {{sup|a}} ᵃ Head templates: {{head|en|proverb|head=}} an apple a day keeps the doctor away, {{en-proverb}} an apple a day keeps the doctor away
  1. Apples are healthy and stave off illnesses. Synonyms: an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay Derived forms: an apple a day (english: by shortening) Translations (apples are healthy and stave off illnesses): تُفَّاحَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فِي الْيَوْمِ تُغْنِيكَ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الطَّبِيبِ (tuffāḥatun wāḥidatun fī l-yawmi tuḡnīka ʕan ziyārati ṭ-ṭabībi) (Arabic), 一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我 (Chinese Cantonese), 一日一苹果 (Chinese Cantonese), 医生远离我 (jat¹ jat⁶ jat¹ ping⁴ gwo², ji¹ sang¹ jyun⁵ lei⁴ ngo⁵) (Chinese Cantonese), 一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我 (Chinese Mandarin), 一日一苹果 (Chinese Mandarin), 医生远离我 (yīrì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ) (Chinese Mandarin), 每日一蘋果,醫生遠離我 (Chinese Mandarin), 每日一苹果 (Chinese Mandarin), 医生远离我 (měirì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ) (Chinese Mandarin), et æble om dagen holder doktoren borte (Danish), pomo ĉiun tagon forturnas malsanon (Esperanto), omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (Finnish), une pomme chaque matin éloigne le médecin (French), chaque jour une pomme conserve son homme (French), ein Apfel pro Tag hält den Doktor fern (German), ένα μήλο την ημέρα, τον γιατρό τον κάνει πέρα (éna mílo tin iméra, ton giatró ton kánei péra) (Greek), קח פרי ותהיה לי בריא (Hebrew), תפוח ביום מרחיק את הרופא האיום (Hebrew), תפוח ביום ולרופא תגיד שלום (Hebrew), minden nap egy alma az orvost távol tartja (Hungarian), epli á dag kemur heilsunni í lag (Icelandic), una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno (Italian), una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno (Italian), 一日一個のりんごで医者しらず (ichinichi ikko no ringo de isha shirazu) (alt: いちにちいっこのりんごでいしゃしらず) (Japanese), ماکن سبيجي ايڤل سهاري, تق ڤرلو برجومڤا دڠن دوکتور لاݢي [Jawi] (Malay), makan sebiji epal sehari, tak perlu berjumpa dengan doktor lagi [Rumi] (Malay), jabłko dziennie trzyma lekarza z dala (Polish), uma maçã por dia traz saúde e alegria (Portuguese), eno jabolko na dan, odžene zdravnika stran (Slovene), una manzana al día mantiene al médico en la lejanía (Spanish), ett äpple om dagen håller doktorn borta (Swedish), güneş giren eve doktor girmez (Turkish) Translations (healthy habits stave off problems): omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away-en-proverb-89rAkK6E Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English proverbs Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 68 32 Disambiguation of English proverbs: 82 18 Disambiguation of 'apples are healthy and stave off illnesses': 86 14 Disambiguation of 'healthy habits stave off problems': 74 26
  2. Healthy eating prevents illness. Categories (topical): Nutrition Translations (healthy eating prevents illness): omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla (Finnish)
    Sense id: en-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away-en-proverb-550Ok~k4 Disambiguation of Nutrition: 34 66 Disambiguation of 'healthy eating prevents illness': 15 85

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for an apple a day keeps the doctor away meaning in English (14.3kB)

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "at 5 New-street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride, in the County of Middlesex; and published by"
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "of 32 Wellington Street, Strand, in the said county."
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1631–1633",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1631–1633",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1631–1633",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1631–1633",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "a"
      },
      "expansion": "ᵃ",
      "name": "sup"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "an"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "68 32",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English proverbs",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "derived": [
        {
          "_dis1": "79 21",
          "english": "by shortening",
          "word": "an apple a day"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, 1975 March 20, →OCLC, page 82",
          "text": "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\").",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, session I (Status of Resources and Utilization), page 35",
          "text": "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\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Apples are healthy and stave off illnesses."
      ],
      "id": "en-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away-en-proverb-89rAkK6E",
      "links": [
        [
          "Apples",
          "apple#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "healthy",
          "healthy"
        ],
        [
          "stave off",
          "stave off"
        ],
        [
          "illness",
          "illness"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "79 21",
          "word": "an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "tuffāḥatun wāḥidatun fī l-yawmi tuḡnīka ʕan ziyārati ṭ-ṭabībi",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "تُفَّاحَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فِي الْيَوْمِ تُغْنِيكَ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الطَّبِيبِ"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "一日一苹果"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "yue",
          "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
          "roman": "jat¹ jat⁶ jat¹ ping⁴ gwo², ji¹ sang¹ jyun⁵ lei⁴ ngo⁵",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "医生远离我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "一日一苹果"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "yīrì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "医生远离我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "每日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "每日一苹果"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "měirì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "医生远离我"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "et æble om dagen holder doktoren borte"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "pomo ĉiun tagon forturnas malsanon"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "une pomme chaque matin éloigne le médecin"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "chaque jour une pomme conserve son homme"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "ein Apfel pro Tag hält den Doktor fern"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "éna mílo tin iméra, ton giatró ton kánei péra",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "ένα μήλο την ημέρα, τον γιατρό τον κάνει πέρα"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "קח פרי ותהיה לי בריא"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "תפוח ביום מרחיק את הרופא האיום"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "תפוח ביום ולרופא תגיד שלום"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "minden nap egy alma az orvost távol tartja"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "epli á dag kemur heilsunni í lag"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "alt": "いちにちいっこのりんごでいしゃしらず",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "ichinichi ikko no ringo de isha shirazu",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "一日一個のりんごで医者しらず"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "tags": [
            "Jawi"
          ],
          "word": "ماکن سبيجي ايڤل سهاري, تق ڤرلو برجومڤا دڠن دوکتور لاݢي"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "ms",
          "lang": "Malay",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "tags": [
            "Rumi"
          ],
          "word": "makan sebiji epal sehari, tak perlu berjumpa dengan doktor lagi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "jabłko dziennie trzyma lekarza z dala"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "uma maçã por dia traz saúde e alegria"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "ка́ждый день я́блоко одно́ — врачу́ остава́ться далеко́ (káždyj denʹ jábloko odnó — vračú ostavátʹsja dalekó)",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "sl",
          "lang": "Slovene",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "eno jabolko na dan, odžene zdravnika stran"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "una manzana al día mantiene al médico en la lejanía"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "ett äpple om dagen håller doktorn borta"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "86 14",
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
          "word": "güneş giren eve doktor girmez"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "74 26",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "healthy habits stave off problems",
          "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "34 66",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Nutrition",
          "orig": "en:Nutrition",
          "parents": [
            "Health",
            "Body",
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "He advocated the increased use of fruit, for he believed in the old saying, \"An apple a day keeps the doctor away.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, page 5",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Healthy eating prevents illness."
      ],
      "id": "en-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away-en-proverb-550Ok~k4",
      "links": [
        [
          "eating",
          "eating#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prevent",
          "prevent"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "15 85",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "healthy eating prevents illness",
          "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkiːps ðə ˈdɒktəɹ‿əˈweɪ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkips ðə ˈdɑktɚ əˈweɪ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-an apple a day keeps the doctor away.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4b/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "John Clavell",
    "The Soddered Citizen"
  ],
  "word": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English proverbs",
    "English rhyming phrases",
    "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "Rhymes:English/eɪ",
    "Rhymes:English/eɪ/11 syllables",
    "en:Nutrition"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "english": "by shortening",
      "word": "an apple a day"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "at 5 New-street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride, in the County of Middlesex; and published by"
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "of 32 Wellington Street, Strand, in the said county."
      },
      "expansion": "[…]",
      "name": "nb..."
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1631–1633",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1631–1633",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "1631–1633",
        "short": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "c. 1631–1633",
      "name": "circa2"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "a"
      },
      "expansion": "ᵃ",
      "name": "sup"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "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.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "proverb",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away",
      "name": "en-proverb"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenation": [
    "an"
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "proverb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, 1975 March 20, →OCLC, page 82",
          "text": "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\").",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, session I (Status of Resources and Utilization), page 35",
          "text": "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\".",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Apples are healthy and stave off illnesses."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Apples",
          "apple#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "healthy",
          "healthy"
        ],
        [
          "stave off",
          "stave off"
        ],
        [
          "illness",
          "illness"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "He advocated the increased use of fruit, for he believed in the old saying, \"An apple a day keeps the doctor away.\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "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, page 5",
          "text": "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.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Healthy eating prevents illness."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "eating",
          "eating#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prevent",
          "prevent"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkiːps ðə ˈdɒktəɹ‿əˈweɪ/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/əˈn‿æpəl‿ə ˈdeɪ ˈkips ðə ˈdɑktɚ əˈweɪ/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-eɪ"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-an apple a day keeps the doctor away.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4b/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/En-us-an_apple_a_day_keeps_the_doctor_away.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "an apple a day keeps the doctor at bay"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "tuffāḥatun wāḥidatun fī l-yawmi tuḡnīka ʕan ziyārati ṭ-ṭabībi",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "تُفَّاحَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ فِي الْيَوْمِ تُغْنِيكَ عَنْ زِيَارَةِ الطَّبِيبِ"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "一日一苹果"
    },
    {
      "code": "yue",
      "lang": "Chinese Cantonese",
      "roman": "jat¹ jat⁶ jat¹ ping⁴ gwo², ji¹ sang¹ jyun⁵ lei⁴ ngo⁵",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "医生远离我"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "一日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "一日一苹果"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "yīrì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "医生远离我"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "每日一蘋果,醫生遠離我"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "每日一苹果"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "měirì yī píngguǒ, yīshēng yuǎnlí wǒ",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "医生远离我"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "et æble om dagen holder doktoren borte"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "pomo ĉiun tagon forturnas malsanon"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "une pomme chaque matin éloigne le médecin"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "chaque jour une pomme conserve son homme"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "ein Apfel pro Tag hält den Doktor fern"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "éna mílo tin iméra, ton giatró ton kánei péra",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "ένα μήλο την ημέρα, τον γιατρό τον κάνει πέρα"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "קח פרי ותהיה לי בריא"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "תפוח ביום מרחיק את הרופא האיום"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "תפוח ביום ולרופא תגיד שלום"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "minden nap egy alma az orvost távol tartja"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "epli á dag kemur heilsunni í lag"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "una mela al giorno toglie il medico di torno"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno"
    },
    {
      "alt": "いちにちいっこのりんごでいしゃしらず",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "ichinichi ikko no ringo de isha shirazu",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "一日一個のりんごで医者しらず"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "tags": [
        "Jawi"
      ],
      "word": "ماکن سبيجي ايڤل سهاري, تق ڤرلو برجومڤا دڠن دوکتور لاݢي"
    },
    {
      "code": "ms",
      "lang": "Malay",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "tags": [
        "Rumi"
      ],
      "word": "makan sebiji epal sehari, tak perlu berjumpa dengan doktor lagi"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "jabłko dziennie trzyma lekarza z dala"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "uma maçã por dia traz saúde e alegria"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "ка́ждый день я́блоко одно́ — врачу́ остава́ться далеко́ (káždyj denʹ jábloko odnó — vračú ostavátʹsja dalekó)",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses"
    },
    {
      "code": "sl",
      "lang": "Slovene",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "eno jabolko na dan, odžene zdravnika stran"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "una manzana al día mantiene al médico en la lejanía"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "ett äpple om dagen håller doktorn borta"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "apples are healthy and stave off illnesses",
      "word": "güneş giren eve doktor girmez"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "healthy eating prevents illness",
      "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "healthy habits stave off problems",
      "word": "omena päivässä pitää lääkärin loitolla"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "John Clavell",
    "The Soddered Citizen"
  ],
  "word": "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-04-26 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (93a6c53 and 21a9316). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.