Word.ws English Dictionary

applejohn

applejohn noun: a variety of apple which can be kept for a long period, gradually becoming dry and withered; known today as the French crab.

Noun

applejohn (plural applejohns)

  1. (obsolete) A variety of apple which can be kept for a long period, gradually becoming dry and withered; known today as the French crab.
    • What the devil hast thou brought there? apple-johns? / thou knowest Sir John cannot endure an apple-john.a. 1599, William Shakespeare, II Henry IV, act II scene IV

Forms of applejohn

pluralapplejohns
alternative formapple john
alternative formapple-john

Origin of applejohn

From apple + John, possibly from the fact that it can be eaten on St. John's Day, June 24th, of the year after it was picked.

Questions about applejohn

What does applejohn mean?
Applejohn means a variety of apple which can be kept for a long period, gradually becoming dry and withered; known today as the French crab.
What part of speech is applejohn?
Applejohn is a noun.
What is the plural of applejohn?
The plural of applejohn is applejohns.

Words near applejohn in the dictionary

  1. appleheads
  2. applehood
  3. appleish
  4. applejack
  5. applejacks
  6. applejohn
  7. applejohns
  8. applejuicification
  9. appleless
  10. applelicious
  11. applelike

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: applejohn (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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