We often hear it used as the highest compliment, especially for a child, a partner, or someone deeply loved. You’ll hear someone say, “She’s the apple of my eye,” and instantly know they’re talking about someone incredibly special. But when you stop to think about it, the phrase sounds strange. Why an apple? And what does it have to do with someone’s eye?
The phrase actually started as a literal reference to the eye—specifically, the pupil. In Old and Middle English, the “apple” of the eye referred to the small, round, central part of the eye that was considered essential to sight. The phrase can be traced back to writings as early as the 9th century, and it shows up in several parts of the Bible in early English translations, like in Deuteronomy and Psalms, where God is said to guard someone “as the apple of His eye.”
Because the pupil was vital for vision—and vision was considered one of the most precious human senses—the expression took on a figurative meaning over time. If someone was the “apple of your eye,” it meant they were cherished and carefully protected, much like the eye itself. By the time Shakespeare used it in the 1500s in "A Midsummer Night’s Dream," the phrase was already recognized as a way of describing someone dearly loved or favored above all others.
Over the centuries, the phrase gradually shifted from religious and poetic texts into everyday language. By the 18th and 19th centuries, it was common in both British and American English as a way of expressing parental love, romantic affection, or deep admiration. The original anatomical meaning faded, and all that remained was the sentiment—that this person was central to one’s world, the focus of one’s care and affection.
Today, “apple of my eye” is used warmly and often. While people no longer associate it with the pupil of the eye, the emotional impact is just as strong. It evokes tenderness and deep affection, without sounding overly sentimental. It has the rare quality of being poetic but simple, old-fashioned but still heartfelt.
So when you call someone the apple of your eye, you’re using a phrase that has traveled through centuries of language, anatomy, poetry, and love. It may sound small and sweet, but it carries a long legacy of seeing someone as precious, irreplaceable, and worth protecting at all costs.
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