earthapple

earthapple means A Jerusalem artichoke (the tuber of Helianthus tuberosus); the plant that produces it.

Etymology

From earlier erth-apple (“tuberous root of the sowbread", also "tomato-like fruit of the mandrake”), from Middle English *erth-appel, from Old English eorþæppel (“cucumber”, literally “earth or ground-apple”), from Proto-West Germanic *erþapplu (the name of various types of fruits which grow on or below the ground; gourd, melon, squash), equivalent to earth + apple. The modern sense of "potato" is a calque of Dutch aardappel (“potato”). Compare also German Erdapfel, French pomme de terre.

noun

A Jerusalem artichoke (the tuber of Helianthus tuberosus); the plant that produces it.
A potato; the plant that produces it.
The fruit of the mandrake (Mandragora officinarum); the plant itself.
Any of various tubers or the tuberous plants that produce them, especially sowbread (genus Cyclamen).

Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Words closest in meaning

By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.

sunroot 75% match — Synonym of Jerusalem artichoke (tuber). vs earthapple →
topinambour 72% match — Synonym of Jerusalem artichoke (the plant or its tuber). vs earthapple →
earthnut 57% match — Any of various roots, tubers, or pods that grow underground:; A tuber belonging to the species Conopodium majus (syns. Bunium flexuosum, Conopodium denudatum), Bunium bulbocastanum (syn. Carum bulbocastanum), or Apios americana (syn. Apios tuberosa). vs earthapple →
applewood 57% match — The wood of the apple tree. vs earthapple →
artichoke 57% match — A plant related to the thistle with enlarged flower heads eaten as a vegetable while immature, Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus. vs earthapple →
eggplant 56% match — The plant Solanum melongena or its edible fruit; an aubergine. vs earthapple →
eggfruit 55% match — Fruit of the eggplant (Solanum melongena). vs earthapple →
applejohn 55% match — A variety of apple which can be kept for a long period, gradually becoming dry and withered; known today as the French crab. vs earthapple →