The names of many fruits are derived from the foreign languages, both ancient and modern. Sometimes it is quite surprising to learn how certain names began. Take a word like gooseberry. In Saxon, gorst meant rough, and this berry got its name because it grows on a rough or thorny snrub. 
Raspberry comes from the German verb raspen, which means rub together or rub as with a file. The marks in this berry were thought to resemble a file. Strawberry is corruption of 'stray berry', and was so named because of the way runners from this plant stray in all directions.
The cranberry was once called the 'craneberry', because the slender stalks resemble the long legs and neck of the cranes.
The term grape is the English equivalent of the Italian grappo, and the Dutch and French grappe, all of which mean a 'bunch' . Melon is the Greek word for apple, while tomato is the West Indian name for love apple.More Facts: Fact File
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