The pomegranate got its name from the ancient Romans. They originally called it malum granatum. Malum is a Latin word for apple, which came from the Greek word for apple, melon. Granatum comes from the Latin word granum, meaning seed. That is also the source of the modern word grain. So, malum granatum refers to an apple with a lot of seeds. The pulp surrounding the seeds of the pomegranate is the only edible part of the fruit.
The word malum, however, also had another meaning: bad or evil. Perhaps for this reason, or through some kind of natural evolution, the name was changed to ponum granatum. Ponum was a Latin word for fruit, which could mean apple, as well. The word ponum became the French word for apple, pomme.
The Latin word ponum granatum became the French word for the fruit, pome granate. Pome granate became the English pomegranate, sometime in the 1300s.
Although English has retained its original French-derived name for the fruit, the French have long since changed the name. The pomme part of the name has been dropped and the granate eventually became grenade. If you think that sounds familiar, you’re right, of course.
Those little hand-held throwing bombs were developed in the seventeenth century. They looked a bit like a pomegranate so they began to be called grenades. A grenadier, during the 17th century, was a soldier who specialized in throwing grenades, but the modern term has different meanings, referring to guards or even to infantry.
Also, if you’ve ever had a cocktail with some grenadine in it, and wondered what grenadine syrup is, you now have your answer. It’s a syrup made from pomegranate.
The ancient city of Granada, in Spain, is sometimes thought to be the source of the word pomegranate. It is therefore given to mean, by proponents of this belief, apple of Granada. However, the Spanish word for pomegranate is granatus, and many sources attest that this is the origin of the name of the city. There is some disagreement over this but it seems fairly clear that the English word pomegranate has nothing to do with the city of Granada.
The Spanish conquest of the Caribbean led to the name Grenada being given to the island of Grenada, as well, where many pomegranates were found growing, in the 1400s. The term Grenada apples is sometimes used.
Even though our modern word for the fruit is derived from Latin, the modern Latin scientific term for the pomegranate is Punica granatum. This reflects its membership in the Punicaceae family.
The pomegranate is botanically a large berry, and the trees are native to Persia and the Himalayas. They are cultivated all through the Mediterranean region, Africa, Asia, and Europe. It came to the US with the Spanish in the late 1700s and is grown in California and Arizona.
