If an orange is orange, why isn't a lime called a green or a lemon called a yellow?

Answer 1

the world may never know :)

these are the great questions of the universe.

Answer 2

Haha, good question.
Here is the real answer: orange colour isn't common in the nature at all. While people knew yellow, green, red.... stuff from the prehistoric times on, and had their own name for them, they only came in contact with this particular shade (orange), when oranges were imported from Asia sometimes in 15th or 16th century, late medieval time i think.
Not being able to name the colour, they named it after the fruit.
So it was the colour after the fruit, and not vice versa.

There is also a linguistic proof for this: take for example color yellow, and you will see that in different languages it's called completely different things, like giallo, rumena, gelb etc.
Orange, however, sounds more or less the same in all languages, with minor differences in writing and pronunciation.
That's because the word was imported in all the languages at more or less the same time.

Answer 3

imagine if you will 3 men, 3 men that were tasks with the naming of fruits. Lets call these three men scientists. Lets picture these three men like we would the 3 stooges. The one that named the lime was named Moe ( the smartest of the 3) then the one that named the lemon was named Larry ( the next smartest of the 3) then the one who named an orange the orange was named Curly.................( the least smartest of the 3). Moe and Larry asked why oh why did you name that fruit an orange. Curly then explained because it was orange. Larry and Moe then said that Curly was too simple. Curly walks away and said the said I was stupid!

Answer 4

because lime would get mixed up with grapes and granny apples and lemons with bananas :))

Answer 5

coz green already refers to the brain and yellow to teeth (of people who hardly brush theirs)

Answer 6

you think too much... lol that's ok i do too. to answer your question i don't honestly know i really don't think anyone does. all i got to say is that when you have too much time on your hands you tend to think of bizarre questions

Answer 7

the same reason why a coconut is not called a brown and an apple a red.........

Answer 8

NOW YA WENT AND DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wont be able to sleep now trying to think of an answer to this one.....Sheeeezzzzzzzz!!!!!!!!! Nice goin....Ruin my day........

Answer 9

or grapes should be called purples

Answer 10

http://www.killerplants.com/whats-in-a-name/20030214.asp
hope this helps