"English" question - How to write names of fruit-trees?

Question

Here is what I mean:

Let´s take a tree we have an apple from. Different dictionaries call it respectively:

appletree

apple-tree

apple tree

Which one is proper?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking, "apple tree" is the only correct one. Also, many people refer to the wood of this tree as apple wood. The words appletree and applewood occur most often as the names of towns or businesses.

Answer 2

Hello, I'd go with the last one. It sounds most natural to me. However, there is no rule when it comes to this particular spelling problem. For example, you can write both "crab apple" and "crabapple." On the other hand, however, you can't write "apple wood," but "applewood" only... Isn't it beautiful?

• I've just checked it out with a pear tree. If you mean a tree, there are three possibilites: pear, peartree or pear tree (it looks the most correct.) I think that a dash is rarely, if ever, used. - bomberapolac Oct 17, 2009

Answer 3

Isn't it beautiful?

Well... it is confusing. And taking into account that "confusion is a doorway to new understanding", one can call it beautiful...

Answer 4

el arbol de manzana, naranja, etc. Yes, apple tree... there is no hyphen between the tree and type of fruit.

Answer 5

Oh, you seem to be right. I've just checked another dict. and there is no applewood whatsoever! However, you can't write "apple core" but "applecore" -- that's what is says...

I've never seen "apple core" written as one word. Nor "apple seed", "pear stem", or "banana peel". I don't know if this is technically correct, but in these cases, including "(fruit) trees", think of the fruit variety as an adjective describing the obect. Por ejemplo: "apple (adjective) tree (noun)". As such, these would be separate words, with Lorenzo's exceptions noted.

Hope this is helpful.

Answer 6

Oh, you seem to be right. I've just checked another dict. and there is no applewood whatsoever! However, you can't write "apple core" but "applecore" -- that's what is says...But, when you wanna make an adjective, then you should divide both words with a dash, like it is in case of apple green (this is a colour itself) and apple-green, which is an adjective, that's for sure!

Answer 7

And do you happen to know what "to apple polish" means? I like it, not the meaning but the word itself, I mean But this is only a deviation from the main thread, so you don't have to chew it over...