Despite its frequent anachronistic appearance in major Renaissance paintings of the Last Supper, the orange was not consumed at the gathering. A millennium later, crusaders returning from the Holy Land reported having seen oranges there, which no doubt influenced Titian, Fra Angelico, Correggio, Botticelli and other painters, who all painted still lifes with oranges. And during this time, citrus fruits were introduced to the Mediterranean from China by way of India. Where orange trees do grow, they flourish, so much so that in many places they're a symbol of fertility. In Sardinia, the wedding limousine is usually a cart pulled by oxen with oranges attached to their horns. In Crete, the bride and groom are sprinkled with orange flower water on their wedding day to make the marriage happy, prosperous and fruitful. Even in the U.S., brides often carry orange-blossom bouquets or wear wreaths of them in their hair. By the Renaissance, oranges had become a symbol of wealth and opulence. The Medici family incorporated them into their coat of arms as five golden balls.
The word "orange" has it roots in the Sanskrit naranga and may be linked to the Tamil word naru, meaning "fragrant." The initial "n" survived in naranja, the modern Spanish word for orange. But the "n" dropped out for the modern Italian arancia. Also, some etymologists hypothesize that "o" as the first letter of the modern word came about, in part, under the influence of or, the Old French word for "gold." See also citrus, clementine, mandarin orange.
From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
