Orange

Which came first, the fruit orange, or the colour orange? This isn't a puzzle, I am just wondering.

Originally posted by prosoccer
Which came first, the fruit orange, or the colour orange? This isn't a puzzle, I am just wondering.

The colour came first, because the electromagnetic spectrum was around before Citrus Sinensis. However, the word "orange" was used for the fruit before it was used for the colour: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=orange .
BTW: the Dutch royal house of Orange was not named after the colour, but after Orange in the South of France, which name goes back to the Roman city Aurasio. The association between the house and the colour stems at least from the middle of the 16th century, but it isn't the origin of either word.

Richard