“The apple never falls far from the tree” (proverb)
“The apple never falls far from the tree” is an old proverb that means that children (the apple) tend to inherit characteristics from their parents (the tree). The saying has been printed in many languages in many forms.
“The apple never falls far from the stock” was printed in Dictionarium Britannicum (1736). “The apple will not fall far from the tree. Adage” was printed in A Dictionary of the Welsh Language (1803) by William Owen. “The apple never falls far from the tree” was printed in The Weekly Recorder (Chillicothe, OH) on May 16, 1821. “The apple falls commonly not far from the stem” was printed in Journey to the World Under Ground: Being the Subterraneous Travels of Niels Klim (1828) by Baron Ludvig Holberg.
Wiktionary: the apple does not fall far from the tree
Alternative forms
. apple does not fall far from the stem
. apple does not fall far from the trunk
. apple never falls far from the tree
Proverb
the apple does not fall far from the tree
1. (idiomatic) A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
the apple never falls far from the tree and variants: a person inevitably shares traits with or resembles his or her parents or family.
In quot. 1839 with reference to return to the family home.
[Compare German der Apfel fällt nicht weit von Stamm, etc. Compare also quot. 1843, and the following:
1830 B. Thorpe tr. R. K. Rask Gram. Anglo-Saxon Tongue Pref. p. xxvii Traces still exist in the daily language of the Icelanders, for instance in the proverb, eplit fellr ekki lánt frá eikinni the apple falls not far from the tree (the oak!).
Compare also quot. OE at Phrases 1.]
[1839 R. W. Emerson Let. 22 Dec. (1939) II. 243 As men say the apple never falls far from the stem, I shall hope that another year will draw your eyes and steps to this old dear odious haunt of the race.]
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. iii. 40 ‘The apple’, as the Danes say, ‘had not fallen far from the tree’; the imp was in every respect the counterpart of the father.
Google Books
Dictionarium Britannicum:
Or a More Compleat Universal Etymological English Dictionary Than Any Extant
By Nathan Bailey
London, UK: Printed for T. Cox
1736
Pg. ?:
The Germ. say: Der apf failr nisht mort boun estamine. (i. e. The apple never falls far from the stock )
Google Books
A Dictionary of the Welsh Language
Volume I
By William Owen
London, UK: Printed for E. Williams
1803
Pg. 195:
The apple will not fall far from the tree. Adage.
16 May 1821, The Weekly Recorder (Chillicothe, OH), “Reform,” pg. 287, col. 2:
Some of them enter marriage incautiously, and in a short time, become drunkards; their children are again, of necessity, “put out,” and having the bad example of their parents added to the carelessness of their masters, they soon verify the old adage—“the apple never falls far from the tree.” (...)—Fed. Rep.
Google Books
Journey to the World Under Ground:
Being the Subterraneous Travels of Niels Klim
By Baron Ludvig Holberg
London, UK: Published by Thomas North
1828
Pg. 191:
But still more clearly may it be seen from this, how greatly those persons err, who believe that vice is in any way necessary to man, and insist that anger is the soul of valour, envy the stimulus to industry, and suspicion the mother of prudence; for the apple falls commonly not far from the stem, and an addled egg never produces a fine chicken.
Google Books
A Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Tongue: With a Praxis
By Rasmus Rask
Translated by Benjamin Thorpe
Copenhagen, Denmark: Printed by S. L. Moller
1830
Pg. XXVII:
eplit fellr ekki langt fra eikinni the apple falls not far from the tree {the oak!)
Newspapers.com
25 October 1838, Public Ledger (Philadelphia, PA), pg. 2, col. 4:
It is very probable that Frederick’s ancestors were called Cant, in consideration of such a qualification, and that he inherited it from them, in verification of the old saying, “the apple never falls far from the stem.”
OCLC WorldCat record
The naked city. The apple falls not far from the tree
Author: William A Graham; Charles Russell; Arnold Perl; Lester Pine; Paul Burke; All authors
Publisher: United States : ABC-TV, 1963-01-23.
Edition/Format: Film : Film Visual material : English
OCLC WorldCat record
Sexuality is heredity : the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree
Author: Chuck Gallagher
Publisher: Elizabeth, N.J. : Pastoral and Matrimonial Renewal Center, ©1990.
Series: Celebrate love series
Edition/Format: Print book : English
OCLC WorldCat record
The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far from the Tree: Mac-clone makers show promise
Edition/Format: Article Article : English
Publication: US NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 121, no. 7, (August 19, 1996): 53